Metal Gear Exodus
by Kel Jarman
Summary: This is a direct sequel to the Metal Gear Solid series, taking place after the events of MGS4. With the fall of the Patriots, the production of Metal Gear goes underground. But where one power falls, others will rise. FOXHOUND is reborn to battle them.
1. Intro and Timeline

Intro

Hey, thanks for reading! This is a continuation taking place after the events of Metal Gear Solid 4. !SPOILER WARNING! If you have not played through MGS4, you may not want to read this story as it contains spoilers pertaining to the ending. This tale revolves around Sunny Gurlukovich, who has grown up considerably since then and has become Solid Snake's successor. The world has changed politically and has known mostly peace since 2014. But with the gap of power left with the fall of the Patriots, an old power re emerges to take control.

Metal Gear Exodus Timeline

The following timeline is a summary of events leading up to Metal Gear Exodus. Everything before 2014 is actual events of the Metal Gear saga, while everything after 2014 are custom events for the purpose of the story. Everything after the dotted divider line is after the birth of the main character, Sunny Gurlukovich.

**1918**

After World War I, the Philosophers are born to work together as a secret government. Headed by the Wisemen's Committee.

They work together to gather a massive fortune known as the Philosopher's Legacy.

**1944**

The last of the Wisemen's Committee dies out and the Philosphers begin to crumble. The Philosopher's Legacy disappears.

**1964**

Operation Snake Eater (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater).

**1970**

Major Zero, Para-Medic, and Sigint form the Patriots and begin to seize the power left by the fall of the Philosphers.

**1972**

Les Enfants Terribles project initiated. The Sons of Big Boss are born: Solid Snake, Liquid Snake, and Solidus Snake.

Big Boss leaves the Patriots and becomes their enemy.

**1995**

Operation: Intrude N313 (Metal Gear).

Rookie Solid Snake gains fame.

**1999**

Zanzibar Land Uprising (Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake).

Frank Jaeger, the legendary Gray Fox, is on the verge of death as Zanzibar Land collapses. He is kidnapped by the Patriots and held for experiments.

**2003**

Frank Jaeger is fitted with a prototype exoskeleton and made into the cyborg ninja, a human weapon. He escapes during an accident in the lab and kills Para-Medic, now known as Dr. Clark.

**2005**

Shadow Moses Incident (Metal Gear Solid)

Sigint, now known as Donald Anderson, is killed by Revolver Ocelot.

Frank Jaeger dies

Solid Snake becomes a hero, feared by the Patriots.

**2008**

Sunny Gurlukovich is born to Olga Gurlukovich and kidnapped by the Patriots.

Sunny is subjected to rigorous cybernetic and computer exposure by the Patriots and becomes a prodigy; her reflexes, intelligence, and strategic reasoning increase exponentially.

**2009**

Manhattan Incident (Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty)

Olga Gurlukovich is forced to aid Raiden in the SSS program or Sunny will be killed by the Patriots. Olga is killed in action.

**2010**

Raiden's son John is born. His fiancé Rosemary says she had a miscarriage to hide John from the Patriots.

**2011**

Raiden rescues Sunny and leaves her in the care of Otacon and Solid Snake

Otacon begins guiding Sunny in the use of computer information

**2014-2016**

Solid Snake ends Liquid's Insurrection and brings down the Patriots. (Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots)

Zero and Big Boss die. The reign of the Patriots quickly ends.

Raiden finds out about his son John and marries Rosemary.

Sunny becomes Solid Snake's protégé. Solid Snake dies

Sunny becomes obsessed with the training program built for her by Snake before his death.

China and Japan's power begin to wane.

**2018**

U.S.A signs treaty with Mexico and Canada. Becomes the North America Alliance (NAA). The Marine SEALs are established.

Russia invades Georgia and proceeds to reclaim the territories of the Commonwealth to reinstate the U.S.S.R. Soviet militaries united into Committee for State Security (KGB).

Sunny continues her training and begins to lose her stutter.

**2019**

The negotiations that began as the European Union evolve into the New European Federation (NEF); it includes Britain, Italy, and France at the helm of its leadership.

The three superpowers sign the Treaty of Paris 2019, banning the international construction of any Metal Gear weapon.

Metal Gear production goes underground.

**2028**

At age 20, Sunny finishes her training and resolves to pick up Solid Snake's work.

Otacon revives Philanthropy as the new FOXHOUND. Sunny becomes the operative of this revived group to hunt down and disable underground Metal Gears for the good of mankind.


	2. Chapter 1 New Beginnings

_**Chapter 1**_

New Beginnings

The infrared feed came online as the surrounding light became amplified and then dimmed to allow the distinguishing of the different objects in an ambient green glow. A crosshair appeared and began scanning the screen. As it found the small warehouse in the middle, it began to zoom. A handful of hired guns patrolled the perimeter, assisted by cameras and guard dogs. Sunny Gurlukovich grinned as she tapped a small switch on the mechanism in her left ear.

"Maiden here," she spoke softly, "Otacon do you read me?"

"Loud and clear, Maiden. Status?"

"I am here in the tundras of the Soviet Union. As requested, I have located the warehouse.

"Ah, Russia in the winter. What a vacation."

Sunny frowned, "I do not seem to see the humor as you do. Perhaps it is the sharp winds tearing into my face."

"I suppose so," Otacon agreed with a grin, "Though it is necessary to face harsh conditions. Your training never ends, Sunny; every mission prepares you for the next. Just as Snake always said."

"Right. Your new prototype seems to be working just fine, though."

"Yes, the sneaking suit. How does it fit you?"

"Perfectly, it is like I'm wearing nothing. It contours great and helps me maintain my flexibility, not to mention keeping my body temperature at a normal rate."

"I'm glad. The suit is designed specifically for your supreme agility and graceful movements. It should also greatly compliment your adapted form of Snake's CQC techniques. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to adapt my Octo-Camo technology to it." Otacon snickered, "Sorry I forgot to pack you a face mask."

"I bet. You seem to always find a way to make me suffer a mission just a tad."

Otacon nodded, "It's my job to keep you in top shape. You can't expect our missions to be vacations. Readings on security?"

"Just the basics: hired mercenaries, dogs, security cameras."

"A read on the guards?"

The crosshair on the infrared screen stopped on a guard and zoomed in again for a better view. Sunny responded, "Uniform appears to be Russian, circa early 2000's; they are wearing masks, most likely to protect them from the cold. They have no use for hiding their identities out here, after all."

"Interesting," Otacon replied, "If they are Russian, perhaps the Union is backing out of the anti Metal Gear agreement. Stay on your guard."

"Right. Confirm Objective?"

Otacon cleared his throat, "I received some info that a new type of Metal Gear is under construction, different than any we have come across up until now. My informant indicates that this warehouse is closely related to the weapon. Your objective for this mission is simple, steal the information on this new model Metal Gear."

Sunny nodded, "Objective Confirmed, Maiden out." She hit the switch again to cut the feed, then took off her night vision goggles. She stood tall and took a deep breath, her grayish white hair fluttering in the wind. The weather was a bitter cold, and the wind greatly heightened the cold. She only felt the wind against her face, however, as her body was covered with the neutral-temperature sneaking suit Otacon had prepared for her. The suit was a shadow black, blending in perfectly with the surrounding night sky. It was fitted with an array of latches and hooks designed to hold her gear in place without making noise as she moved.

She slowly started down the hill, keeping a sharp eye for any possible dangers. There seemed to be little or no guards on the outside perimeter, just a tall, barbed fence fitted with cameras. She ducked lower and lower as she came closer to the warehouse, careful to stay out the area of sight of the cameras. The frozen ground of the tundra cracked beneath her feet as she stepped, a sound she could not help outdoors. Light, soft steps ensured that her walking could not be heard over the guards' walking.

The female operative made a small leap toward the fence and landed on her belly as she scanned the area. The guards seemed to walk in the basic patrol routes for a square-shaped building. There was one on each side, walking back and forth from one end to another. The two dogs patrolled in circles around the entire structure, growling and sniffing around. She studied the movements of the patrol for several minutes while formulating a plan in her head. It came to her fairly quickly and naturally, as it always had. She waited until the dogs were on the opposite side of the warehouse and the patrol on her end had gone towards the front. Pulling forth a pen-shaped object, Sunny began cutting through the fence with a small laser. She quickly cleared the small piece of barbed metal and slid through the fence. She stayed on her belly and quickly slid her way through the hole and under a transport truck.

The patrolling guard made his way back to the back end of the warehouse and looked around. He mumbled to himself in Russian and began his trek back toward the front of the building. Sunny started to leave her hiding place, but noticed the dogs returning. She dropped her breathing and rolled to the other end of the truck to stay out of the attention of the dogs.

She patiently waited for another opening and rolled from under the truck. Getting up to a small crouch, Sunny hurried toward the back of the warehouse. The patrolling guard turned and began making his way back. Sunny quickly leapt into a roll behind the building. The mercenary patrolling the back was at the other end and was beginning to turn back as well. Sunny made her way to a back exhaust vent and used the heating laser to slip her way through in the nick of time. She grinned as she watched the mercenary's feet pass the vent, both in victory and relief. _A close one_, she thought to herself as she began to make her way through the ventilation duct.

The passage was narrow and dark, definitely a tight fit. Luckily, Sunny was of a small, thin build with her muscle mass only toned and not overly muscular. It was still a small duct, so the operative was forced into more of a slither than a crawl. She moved throughout the small, linear space until she came to a vent that led out into an empty office room. The vent fell to the floor as the girl dropped from the ventilation. Landing silently, she ducked out of view of the windows as soon as possible. She stayed in a ducked-down position and pressed her back against the wall. Inching her way over, she slowly slid the door open for a quick view of the outside area. The coast appeared clear.

The hall was empty, but that didn't mean she could rush out of the office. Her head crept from the cracked door just inches; just as she feared, another camera was keeping watch. She reached up and tapped the switch on her ear. "Maiden, reporting in."

The line for quiet just for a moment before the familiar voice returned, "I read you, Maiden. What's the situation?"

"I have made it into the warehouse. I am in an office that appears to be in the…southeastern quadrant."

Otacon looked over the blueprints on the other end, then replied, "Okay, according to our informant, the Metal Gear was moved to a new lab after he left the project. But he is certain that all the documentation on the weapon is still kept here in a safe in the old R&D room located on the north end of the second floor."

"Second floor, huh? Any idea how to get to the stairs?"

"That's where it gets tricky. There are no stairs, just a lift in the center. I have no idea how you are going to use it, though."

Sunny grimaced, "And you neglected to tell me this sooner to help more with me training?"

"Well actually," Otacon snickered, "This part was just fun for me."

Shaking her head, Sunny continued, "Hopefully it will be for me too. Just give me a route, okay?"

"R-right. Go into the hall to your right and make your way to the last door on the left. It leads to a wide space in the middle of the warehouse where the lift is located. After getting to the second floor, head north until you find the R&D room."

"Affirmative."

"Good luck, Maiden." Otacon's voice rang through the line, suddenly sounding serious and heart felt.

Sunny switched off communications and closed her eyes for a moment. Remembering the directions given to her by Otacon, she began formulating her course of action in her head. _This is it_, she thought to herself as she stood, _I have to be quick and cannot stop for anything_. She drew small handgun that shot electrified stunning rounds. Her arm slowly extended through the door and fired the gun. The camera buzzed as the electric pulse shot through its circuits and shut it down. Sunny entered the hall way and began running toward the door. At just the wrong moment, a mercenary opened the door she was running to.

The operative sprinted into a fast cartwheel spin and kicked the guard in the chin. The man let out a surprised grunt as he hit the ground. Sunny landed on her feet and fired a stun round into his chest. She closed the door and took a deep breath as she continued on her route. She made her way down the last hall and into the center opening with the lift. She ducked and glanced through the window. "Three mercs," She whispered to herself. Noting their patrol patterns, she slipped through the door leading into the opening. She slid behind a pile of crates and crawled further into the room. As a guard walked by, Sunny leapt from the safety of the crates. Landing in a handstand, her legs wrapped around his neck and flung him to the ground in a modified choke hold. The mercenary struggled at first, but lost most of his oxygen from the surprise of the attack.

Sunny dragged the unconscious body behind the crates and began a quick sprint.

The second guard turned toward her a moment too late as she slid toward him with her elbow breaking through a rib. Her legs swept into his as he fell off balance and hit the floor with a thud. She quickly shot him with the stun round and rose from the floor with another shot to the third guard that was charging toward her. The charging mercenary lost his balance as the electricity ran through his body and began to tumble across the ground. Without hesitation, Sunny leapt over the safety rail into the lift and began her ascent to the second floor.

As the lift came to the second floor, she fired two more rounds, disabling the two mercenaries guarding the entrance. So far everything was going rather smoothly and still no one was alerted to an intruder. That could not last forever, though, so she knew she had to hurry. She crouched down and stayed clear of the windows as she headed north. Paying close attention to every room she came across, Sunny finally noticed a room with a sign that read: ROOM 2-F - RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. She quietly entered the room and began scanning her surroundings. There were several filing cabinets and shelves filled with massive amounts of paper work. However, tucked away in a back corner wall was a large safe.

Sunny grinned and placed a long strip of plastic explosive compound along the edge of the safe and made her way to a clear distance on the other side of the room. The safe blew open and some of the files fell out. She quickly skimmed through the files and data with a smile. She was right; this was the information on the new Metal Gear prototype. Her celebration was cut short though, as she heard voices from outside of the room. She quickly dropped to a lying position. It appeared to be a man and woman from their voices, and both were speaking English. The female voice had a Russian accent, while the male was American. Sunny listened intently as they spoke.

"Preparations are complete, Commander." The male voice said gruffly.

"Very good," the woman said, "We will begin departure for the Trench soon."

"Are you sure about this? I don't trust them."

"Believe me; your trust would be well placed in them. They only want order in the world. Someone has to be in charge, otherwise anarchy would spread. It is necessary."

The man grunted, "But these methods, they are insane. It could mean the end of the world, or at least as we know it."

Sunny heard a wicked chuckle from the Russian woman, "That's not necessarily a bad thing. I have witnessed the worst in people, Hunter. Perhaps extinction is what we need."

There was silence for a moment, followed by a hesitant reply from the man, "Yes, Ma'am…"

"Good, now set the charges and evacuate the men. We cannot leave any evidence of this place. I will meet you at the choppers."

"Yes, Commander Gurlukovich. I'm on it."

Sunny's eyes widened as she heard the woman's name. Her head shot up as she quickly made her way to the window. As the two began walking away from one another she caught a good glimpse of them. The man called Hunter was of a muscular build and dressed like an army commando, but she did not recognize him. But that woman…she had aged a bit and her hair was longer, but it was definitely her. Sunny had seen her picture a million times, it never left her bedside. It was Olga Gurlukovich.

"Mother…" the Maiden whispered as a single tear streamed down her cheek.


	3. Chapter 2 Bonds of Blood and Spirit

_**Chapter 2**_

Bonds of Blood and Spirit

The powerful explosion sliced through the silence of the night as the modified military heavy transport plane known as the Nomad made its way away from the blast. The pieces of the old warehouse shot in all different directions as the explosion roared. The Nomad began to shake and shutter with the impact, but quickly managed to become stable and continue its flight. Sunny lay curled in her bed, her eyes filled with tears as she clutched the picture of her mother tightly in her hands. Her body was shaken and all of the discipline she had learned in training had quickly vanished. She still could not believe she had seen her mother alive and well.

Olga Gurlukovich gave birth to Sunny in 2008, the happiest day of her life. With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the recent death of her father Sergei, Sunny was all the hope she had left. As the cruel fates would have it, that hope wouldn't last very long either. Sunny was kidnapped by the Patriots and held captive to ensure Olga's cooperation. They had an operative named Raiden that they had set up for a test run of a new project. They told Olga to keep the operative alive; that if he died, then so would her daughter. Olga reluctantly agreed and used her Gurlukovich Mercenaries as leverage to get aboard the Big Shell, where the project was taking place, and protect the operative. She posed as a cyborg ninja to aid him in his mission and ensure her daughter lived. It was here unfortunately, that Olga would meet her end. Solidus Snake, brother of both Solid and Liquid, shot and killed her as she tried to keep Raiden alive.

The operative succeeded in killing Solidus and lived, and so too did Sunny. Before she died, Olga told Raiden what the Patriots had done to Sunny, and he set off to find the girl and save her from their grasp. While being held by the Patriots, however, Sunny Gurlukovich was subjected a massive array of cybernetic and computer exposure. Different forms of technological nano-machines were tested on her and she was actually physically exposed to the group of AI modules that made up the Patriots. As a result, Sunny became a prodigy. Her senses were sharper than normal, her reflexes and agility far superior. Her mind was blasted into overdrive and her intelligence and strategic reasoning were amplified exponentially. As a side effect of the experiments and her gained abilities, she developed a profound stutter and became very introverted.

In 2011, Raiden finally succeeded from rescuing her from the compound in which she was being held. Before being captured by the Patriots himself, he left her in the care of Solid Snake and his friend Hal Emmerich. Hal, or Otacon as his friends called him, soon realized her staggering intelligence at such a young age and took her under his wing, teaching her everything he knew.

In 2014, she worked with Naomi Hunter to develop a computer equivalent to the infamous genetic FOXDIE virus that Naomi had created years before. They named it FOXALIVE and used it to successfully destroy the Patriots once and for all. Unfortunately, it was during this time that Naomi herself died from cancer; meanwhile Solid Snake learned that his time as a clone of Big Boss was coming to an end and he would be dying soon. At first, they all kept it from Sunny, but eventually broke the news to her. It was hard at first, but as she came to grips with the cruelty of fate, she asked Solid Snake to teach her to be a soldier.

The old killer simply looked at her, as if he could not even express his surprise through facial gestures. "No kid," he said gruffly, "that's no life for you. A life of war is a life alone." But the stubborn girl would not give in. "But except for you and Hal," she said in a sob, "I am alone…" She spent the next year convincing him to teach her, hearing one resounding "No." after another. He taught her a lot about life, and the importance of building relationships. She learned so much from him, but never anything about combat. He told her time and time again, that phrase, that always stayed in her head, "No kid, that's no life for you. A life of war is a life alone."

A week after Solid Snake took his last breath; Otacon gave her a disc containing a training routine designed by Snake himself. "He didn't want you to have this until after he was gone," Otacon said with tears in his eyes. He gave her the disk and she immediately began training. She had learned so much about Snake that past year. Not about how good a soldier he was, but how good a person a trained killer could actually be. She wanted to carry on his work. She knew that even though a treaty was signed banning Metal Gear production that it was not over. It would never be over. She wanted to be as good as him, able to keep the world safe from the weapon his family had cursed it with. She also needed something to keep her mind off of the memories: of Snake, of her mother, of the staggering hardships she had already faced. As a result, she became obsessed with the training program he had set up for her.

She studied his form of CQC (Close-Quarters Combat) and modified it to compliment her high agility and reflexes. Though she was the last person anyone would expect to become the successor of the legendary soldier, Sunny's high agility and lighting-fast reflexes actually made her an ideal candidate. As she became more focused, her stuttering began to subside completely and she became more able to fit into social functions. While trying to combat her stutter, she developed a habit of never using contractions while speaking, a habit Otacon found very annoying. Then two years ago, when Otacon deemed her ready, he revived his and Snake's old anti Metal Gear group Philanthropy. He renamed the group FOXHOUND after Snake's old military unit in honor of the late soldier. Getting on in years himself, he provided support as Sunny went into the field as the Maiden and disabled the underground Metal Gear production.

Now here she was at twenty-two. She was a slender, curvy, beautiful woman. She was intelligent, articulate, and well spoken. She was calculating and calm mostly all of the time, never rushing into any situation without thinking of every possible outcome. Another ability she seemed to posses is taking information and plotting an entire course of action in her head in mere minutes. In almost every way, she was the perfect solo operative for the new group. She had ended up with a full life, but it had always felt empty.

Though she was grateful for the two men that had raised her, Sunny had always wished she could have kept her mother. She always found herself missing her, wondering what she was like. The only piece of her she had was the picture in her hand, a gift Raiden had left with her when he brought her to Snake and Otacon. She continued to sob as she clutched the picture tighter. All of her life she had believed her mother dead. And now she was alive. And she was an enemy. The shattering reality of it all was so overwhelming. She had always wondered what she would say to her mother if they ever met. Yet when she had seen Olga in the flesh, her body completely froze. She lost complete sight of the mission. As the warehouse detonated, she had barely escaped with the files, and with her life. It was all too much to process. When she told Otacon, he looked at her in shock as well. He had told her to just go to bed and be alone while he analyzed the data she found.

She rolled over and stared at the picture. The woman who stared back was a soldier, no doubt about it. She was a woman bred for combat. Yet, in her eyes Sunny could also see compassion. She longed to feel that compassion, and despised life for taking that from her. As she stared at the picture, her eyes slowly closed and she drifted to sleep.

Her dreams were suddenly shattered by the ringing of the intercom. It was Otacon. "Um, Sunny. I know you're not in the best of moods right now, but I think you should hear this as soon as possible. Could you come to the command room?"

"Y-yes. I will…be right there." She replied, wiping the tears from her eyes with her sheets. Sunny got to her feet and placed the picture of Olga on the counter beside her bed. She slowly made her way to the control room, where Otacon and the miniature robot, Metal Gear Mk. III sat at a large table.

Otacon had a stern look on his face as he pushed up his glassed on the bridge of his nose. "Have a seat," He said.

Sunny sat down and stared into his eyes, "What is wrong?" She asked cautiously.

"I've reviewed the material you brought to me. It seems that Olga really is alive, and in command of the team constructing this new Metal Gear. The uniforms those men were wearing, they weren't Soviet uniforms. It was the Gurlukovich Mercenaries, your mother's private military. It seems they went underground after the Manhattan Incident and have been working covert operations since then."

Sunny nodded, "So it was…really her?"

"Yes Sunny," Otacon sighed, "but she has gone rogue. She is leading a terrorist group calling themselves FOX. They are not constructing this Metal Gear to sell to governments on the black market; they are preparing to go to war with the three superpowers."

"War?"

"Yes. From what I have read, there are five of them. Olga is commanding a group of superior mercenaries. The other four are an ex-commando named Hunter, an assassin named Damsel, a sniper called Dead-Aim, and former spy called Octopus Rayne. She is using the Gurlukovich Mercenaries to supplement their numbers. That's all the documents contained about the actual group. The rest is test data on their Metal Gear and the new facility that's housing it."

"What is the new facility, where is it?"

Otacon nodded, "It's called the Titan's Trench, named after the rulers of the world in Greek myth before the Olympians overthrew them. The facility is made up of six buildings, shaped like a humanoid titan. There's the Left-Arm Wing and Right-Arm Wing that are connected by an underground tunnel. That is where the research and development take place. The Left-Leg Wing and Right-Leg Wing are where the testing and weapons simulations take place. The Head building is where prisoners and hostages are held and interrogated. And finally, the Core building is where the Metal Gear is housed. The facility itself is located in Siberia, in the middle of nowhere. If you choose to go, I can't imagine you having any backup."

Sunny manages a slight grin, "That is what FOXHOUND excels at, correct?"

Otacon smiled with her, "Right."

"I have to go, Hal. I have to confront her. Perhaps I can change her mind. If she knew I were alive…if she met me, then maybe…"

"It's worth a shot, but don't put yourself in danger Sunny. Do not underestimate her."

"I will not take any unnecessary risks. The cease in operation of the new Metal Gear is top priority."

"Good. We will fly over the facility and you will make a HALO jump to the Left-Arm wing. It's the least protected part of the facility. Once in, you will have to find a way to the Core and locate the underground hangar that houses Metal Gear. My informant that led us to this information is named Victor Ward. I saw his name in the prison registry in the data you confiscated, meaning he has been captured by FOX. If you find him, I am sure he can help you destroy it."

"When can we make the jump?"

"Whenever you're ready."

"Let us commence the operation as soon as possible, I will suit up."

"Wait Sunny, there is one more thing I recovered in the data. Something you should know before you go."

Sunny stared at him questioningly, "What is it?"

"They have Snake's body at the facility."


	4. Chapter 3 Infiltration

_**Chapter 3**_

Infiltration

The Nomad sped through the night sky over the vast spans of Siberia. Sunny had a fierce look of determination as she zipped up her sneaking suit and began securing her equipment. She tightened all of the straps and cords on her suit and began checking her equipment to make sure she had everything, and zipped it up in a small duffle bag she strapped across her back. She then placed her stun pistol and deadly baretta into their holsters and turned from her ammunitions chest. She leaped into the air and performed various flips and dives to make sure everything was securely fastened. As a final test she turned on the small display screen on her left wrist. Everything seemed to be functioning optimally.

Otacon was making preparations of his own as he was organizing all relevant information into his computer in order to provide faster, more reliable support to the Maiden once she was in action. fluttered around his desk in mischievous manners as he tried to work. He had tried swatting at the small machine numerous times, but nothing stopped it from making its loops and rounds.

Sunny entered the command room. "I am ready. Are we at the drop zone?"

"Just about," Otacon turned to face her, "Relax, would you. If you stay tense like that, something will go wrong. Remember your training."

"I know. It is just…a lot to take in."

"And use some damn contractions, Sunny. You sound like some sort of android."

Sunny smiled, "I am sorry."

Otacon merely grunted and shook his head.

"Any idea why they took Snake's body?" she finally asked.

"Beat's me. It could be any number of reasons. Solid Snake wasn't your ordinary specimen. Everything about him is different than normal humans. But whatever it is, it can't be good."

_Mother_, Sunny thought to herself, _what are you doing_?

"Approaching destination," one of the pilots said as Sunny looked up.

"Well," Otacon said matter-of-factly, "this is it. Are you sure you're up for this?"

"Yes. I still feel that I must do this. I have to meet her, and try to find out what she is up to."

"I understand. I will make preparations for your insertion. Oh yeah, I almost forgot." Otacon threw her a piece of attire made from the same fabric as her suit. "I packed you a face mask this time."

The drop bay of the Nomad opened as it approached the Titan's Trench. Sunny slowly inched her way outward. She blended perfectly into the night, her suit making her appear as a shadow. Two pitch-black lenses had been crafted into the eye holes of the mask, to shield her eyes while allowing maximum visibility. The wind was strong as forced its way into the bay. "Maiden, do you read me?" the feed buzzed into her ear.

"Affirmative. Maiden in position for jump."

"Okay, your target is the Left-Arm Wing of the facility. If you land on the roof, there are no cameras and no guards. The two Arm Wings are filled mostly with scientists, but don't let your guard down. Guards _will_ be present as well throughout the building. Your first objective is to find Victor Ward. He could be housed anywhere in the facility since he worked on the actual project. I highly doubt he will be kept in the Head building with the other prisoners."

Sunny nodded, "Objective Confirmed. Ready for jump."

"Oh and Sunny."

"Yes?"

"Good luck out there. I hope you find what you want…"

"…Thanks Otacon."

The buzzers began to sound as the Nomad reached the Trench. "HALO jump in progress," Otacon buzzed over the speaker, "Maiden launch, prepare for insertion." Sunny leaped from the plane and held her body stiff as she fell through the clouds. She could hear nothing but the hard flapping of the wind as it pummeled against her body. Her blood began to pump as the rush set in, the feeling was truly exhilarating.

As she dove through the clouds, the lights of the facility began to come into view. It was a massive collection of structures, formed in the shape of a titan, just as Otacon had said. Four massive spot lights rotated four beams of light back and forth across the buildings, possibly to spot any attacks coming from the air.

The Titan's Trench came into startling clarity as she came closer and closer. The wind rushed around her and she continued to plunge in the direction of the Left-Arm. Once she had reached the recommended altitude, her chute opened and she glided slowly down to the building.

Suddenly, one of the cables snapped from her parachute and she began to fall faster. A startled Sunny began grabbing for the loose cord to stabilize her fall, but could not reach it. She kept struggling as she plummeted toward the rooftops of the Left-Arm Wing.

Remembering her training, she tried to stay calm. Panic would only lead to defeat. After resolving that nothing could be done about the situation, she began to brace herself for impact. Shifting her weight, Sunny landed in a forceful barrel roll as she hit the roof. She cut the rest of the chute off and it fluttered off of the roof, along with the duffle bag that held most of her equipment.

"Damn." She whispered to herself as she got to her feet. She crouched behind a protruding part of the roof and flipped the switch on her ear, "Maiden here. There were complications."

Otacon buzzed back, "Complications? Are you okay?"

"My parachute failed. I'm okay, but it dragged a lot of my infiltration gadgets off of the roof. I'm naked except for my guns and a few other things."

"I don't like the sound of that. Perhaps it's a bad omen. Do you wish to extract? This will like be our only chance to get you out of there."

"No I am fine. I will just have to procure what I can on site. That was Sanke's specialty, right?"

"Yeah, it was his. Not particularly yours. You've never been on a mission without your gear before."

"Agreed, but I wish to continue the mission. I have to reach my mother."

Otacon sighed, "Whatever you say. Not like you would listen to me if I told you no anyways."

"Yeah, exactly. I- What? What is that?"

"What is what? Sunny, what's going on."

Sunny ducked lower as the helicopter came in. "An American helicopter is approaching the facility."

"What? Where? Wait yes I am picking them up on the radar now."

"It is landing on the Right-Arm Wing rooftop, opposite of me. It appears to be the NAA Marine SEALs."

Otacon sounded perplexed, "The new covert assault branch of the North America Alliance?" What are they doing here?"

Sunny nodded, "It appears we are not the only ones onto FOX. Maybe they can help us."

"Or take us down with the terrorists. I am updating your objectives. Stay out the sight of the Marine SEALs and try to discover what their intent is. If they are on our side, we could definitely use their help."

"Right. But first things first, I need to find a way in. Maiden out." Sunny stayed concealed until the Marine SEAL team entered the building and the helicopter left. She stood and watched the chopper fly off.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a surface-to-air missile shot from the facility and hit the tail of the helicopter. The aircraft spun out of control and crashed in the nearby tundra. The explosive could bee seen from her position on the roof. She blinked; FOX knew the SEALs were here, but did they know she was? It was possible they also picked the copter up on radar. Perhaps if they did not know she was there, all of their attention would be on the American team.

She turned and began walking slowly across the roof as she surveyed possible entrances into the facility. There several emergency escape hatches, but she knew well that she could not open any of them without setting off an alarm. Of course there was the stairwell, but that was likely to be under guard. She then decided to go in the old fashioned way; a good trick she learned from Snake and nearly always used.

She knelt down before a large fan and tied a rope to the base. She then fashioned the rope through the hooks and fasteners and secured it. After taking a deep breath, Sunny began to rappel into the ventilation system of the building.

The impenetrable blackness only got deeper as she continued her decent into the ducts. The walls were slick from the cold air, so she took her time maintaining her balance as she climbed down further. After finally reaching the bottom, the she released the rope from her body suit and began making her way into the narrow network of vents and ducts that supplied air to the wing.

The pathways were tight and dark, but because of the cold metal she was able to slide through them much easier. Snake had infiltrated many strongholds through the ventilation, and had told her to always look for them, for that was the easiest way to slip into any place unnoticed. He had definitely been right about that. It seemed no one cared for guarding them.

She had lost her cutting tool with the parachute, so she would have to find a secluded room to mask the noise of her kicking off the vent to get out. She continued down through vents, trying to find a suitable room. She passed by many rooms, almost all of them filled with dozens of scientist working tirelessly on designing and improving weapons. It seemed that the new Metal Gear was not the only weapon being developed and that Olga had somehow come across a lot of funds. If she were allowed to finish her project, it could not end well for the world.

Sunny continued on until she found a suitable room that seemed secluded enough from the rest of the compound. She began kicking at the vent until it gave way and dropped down into the room.

Taking off her facemask and latching it onto her suit, she tapped the switch on her ear and waited for the feed. "Otacon, do you read me. I have successfully infiltrated the building."

"Otacon responding. That's certainly good news. Make sure to stay on your guard. You will have to contend with the Marine SEALs now in addition to the mercenaries and FOX members."

"Right. Any idea where I should start looking for Victor?"

"Try to gain access to a computer terminal. If he is being detained in a room, it should be in the registry. All the data from warehouse says is that he is being held at the facility. Like I said since he is of use to them as a scientist, I am sure they won't be holding him in the prison block."

"Affirmative. There is a computer here, I will see what I can find."

"Good luck."

Sunny flicked off the transceiver and began to make her way to the computer. Suddenly, her transceiver began to ring again. "Yes Otacon?" she asked curiously.

"This isn't your Otacon." The gruff voice replied.

Sunny looked at the screen on her wrist, it was from an unknown frequency. "Who is this?" she asked.

"An ally."

"How did you get my frequency?"

"You would be surprised at the amount of information I can obtain. I see you successfully made it into the facility. Right on time."

"Right on time? Who are you?"

"We have mutual goals, you and I. Maybe with my help you will actually make it out of here alive."

"Sorry, I work alone."

"I will contact you again when the time is right. Do not be fooled by what you want to see. If you let your emotions control you, you will die tonight."

"What are you talking about? Hello?" Sunny sighed as the line went dead. She looked around the room, no one was there. She wondered who the strange voice could be, and how they got in contact with her. Unfortunately, nothing could be done at the moment. Perhaps she could rig her transceiver to track their frequency the next time they contacted her. But for now all that mattered was the mission at hand. She steadied her thoughts and made her way to the computer to find the location of Victor Ward.


	5. Chapter 4 Moses and the Fox

_**Chapter 4**_

Moses and the Fox

The Alpha team from the NAA Marine Seals made their way down the roof-access stairwell of the Right-Arm Wing, their silenced rifles drawn and ready for action. The commander led the troupe slowly down the stairs. They had just received word of the crashed transport; they knew they were trapped here, and they knew they had been discovered.

"Watch your backs men," the commander whispered as they walked, "they know we are here, but if we remain quick and silent they will have a hard time finding us. We have to confirm that the stolen warhead is here. After that, the NAA can attack and backup will be sent. We just have to hang in there and find the weapon."

The men nodded and they continued down the stairs. As they reached the door, the commander looked back, and the team nodded. He slowly raised his foot and kicked the door in. The team jumped into the hallway and opened fire on the guards patrolling.

Before they knew what hit them, the mercenaries guarding the wing went down in a hail of silenced bullets. The team crouched low and stormed the hall. They kept constant vision of their surroundings and rounded up the bodies of the guards.

They quietly opened a storage closet and hid the bodies within as they spot cleaned the blood satins. In mere seconds it was as if they were never there. The team regrouped and went deeper into the hall. The commander saw a door beeping and about to slide open right in front of him. He signaled to the others and they all threw their backs against the wall.

A mercenary calmly walked out of the room, completely oblivious to the danger that waited. The commander bashed him in the head with his rifle and caught the falling man in a chokehold. Before the guard could struggle, his head went limp as his neck snapped in two places. The group helped their leader dispose of the body in the same manner as the others.

The team continued on through the hall, searching for any hostiles. "All clear," the commander stated after awhile. The group relaxed against the wall. "Okay men; listen up," he continued, "We are in the right-most building and our intelligence suggests that the stolen warhead is in the hangar in the core compound of the facility. We must retrieve it at all costs, even if we must give our lives. But we cannot die until we have secured it."

The men nodded and the commander smiled, "Semper Fi," he said.

"Semper Fi!" The men agreed.

Ones and Zeros filled the computer monitor in white as Sunny Gurlukovich attempted to hack into the system files of the facility. She stared intently at the monitor as the numbers scrolled upward, deciphering every value they represented. After a minute or so, she had deciphered the access password. The rest was would be child's play.

"Okay…" she sighed as she browsed the computer, "Prisoners Log…no that is not it….Prisoners of War…no…here we go…Hostages." She clicked the file and opened it up to begin scanning names. It was not there.

"Hmmm…" she pondered to herself as she continued to search, "Quarantine Log. Here we go!" She opened the file and searched. At the bottom of the list was the name Victor Ward. She smiled as she clicked on the name and the monitor refreshed. Victor Ward – Right-Leg Wing Room 2G."

Satisfied with her victory, Sunny began backing out of the computer. Then suddenly she noticed a flashing icon on the desktop. The words MEETING IN PROGRESS flashed in red over and over. She curiously clicked on the icon and a live feed displayed from a camera in the meeting room.

A group of people stood in a rather elegant room. Sunny gasped as she looked on. Olga and the man she called Hunter were on one side of the room. There was also a dark haired woman, presumably Hispanic, and a very thin, very pale man. Olga stood in front of the others and Sunny presumed that this group of individuals was the group calling themselves FOX. On the other side of the room, a rather tall man in a suit and tie stood looking at the group.

"What is the report on Moses." He asked nonchalantly.

Olga stepped forward, "The frame is completed and the artificial intelligence is nearing its final stages. It is almost ready for the weapons to be installed."

"Shadow Moses," the man mused, "where Solid Snake became a hero and enemy of the Patriots. A fitting namesake for our new weapon, don't you think? Metal Gear Moses will far surpass REX and RAY, as well as any Gecko units that could be produced."

Olga nodded, "I agree. I've actually seen RAY up close and I can say this unit is far superior. However, the Patriots had an entire army of them and we have only one. Do you think we will succeed in the strike?"

The man nodded, "Well that is where our trump card comes in. One blast from our Metal Gear could debilitate an entire nation in just a matter of days."

"A good point," Olga submitted, "What will you have us do with the intruders?"

"Kill them. You can toy with them if you want, but I do not want them leaving this place alive."

Olga turned to the pale, thin man, "Dead-Aim, you're up. Take out the Americans."

Dead-Aim laughed with a shrill, high-pitched voice, "Yesss, Madam. Whatever you wisssh. It hasss been ssso long sssince I've gotten the chance to hunt a prey. I ssshall…enjoy thisss…"

She paused for a moment as if in thought and then turned to the dark-haired woman, "Damsel, you go with him. Make sure he doesn't get too excited to finish them off."

Damsel nodded and Dead-Aim grunted at her as the two left the room. "Where is your other woman?" the man asked, "the shape shifter."

"She could be anywhere," Hunter spoke up, "Octopus Rayne prefers to stay in the shadows until she is needed. Then she disappears again."

"Interesting," the man replied, "She seems a very capable ally. My partners will be pleased, for it seems we have invested our funds wisely." The man grinned a wicked grin and left the room as well.

Olga waited a moment, then turned to Hunter, "Are you okay?"

Hunter turned and met her gaze, "I'm not sure. Something about all of this doesn't feel right. I think I need some time to collect my thoughts."

"Take all the time you need. Just make sure you don't let this lapse in judgment interfere with the project."

"Don't worry, commander. My loyalties always lie with you."

"You are a good soldier. Now let us continue our operations. Everything has to be ready before the deadline."

Hunter nodded and left the room with her. After a few more minutes, the camera feed went dead. Sunny stared in disbelief. It was Olga without a doubt, and she was indeed conspiring to go to war. Her fingers traced over the monitor. "Mother…" she whispered, "What happened to you? How could you be…like this?"

She then remembered the cryptic message she had received only moments earlier: _Do not be fooled by what you want to see. If you let your emotions control you, you will die tonight. _She thought about telling Otacon, but decided to keep it to herself for the time being. She knelt down and flicked on her transceiver.

"Otacon, I have come across new information."

The line was silent for a few moments, then Otacon responded, "Otacon here. What have you found?"

"The new model is called Metal Gear Moses; it is the namesake of the Shadow Moses incident in 2005."

"Shadow Moses…that's an event of my life I wish never happened. If this turns out anything like that, it won't be good for either of us."

Sunny continued, "The frame is operational and the AI is almost completed. They will be loading the weapons soon. They claim to have some sort of new weapon, one that could cripple a nation in a matter of days."

"Nuclear?"

"Could be. But something tells me it is different."

"I'll check into it. Anything else?"

"Yeah, I saw a camera feed that was recording a meeting with FOX and someone else. This man said that he and his partners are backing the project. Someone else is pouring the money into their research, which most likely means…"

"That this is bigger than we thought. If someone has contracted them for this, the project could run deeper than just FOX. Sunny, that Metal Gear must be disabled before it becomes operational."

"Affirmative. I have also found the location of Victor Ward. He is being held in quarantine in the Right-Leg Wing."

"Great work. Your priority is to find him and get whatever information you can on disabling Moses. But don't forget about the Marine SEALs. Stay on alert."

Suddenly, her transceiver began to beep. "What's that?" Otacon asked.

"I will explain later," she said, "I promise."

Otacon sounded surprised, "Okay. Sunny. I trust you know what you're doing. I will leave you to the operation."

Sunny switched off Otacon's frequency. The other line was still beeping. Sunny typed in several lines of code into the input unit on her wrist. "Okay stranger, time to snare you." She said as she grinned and answered the call.


	6. Chapter 5 Deadly Seduction

_**Chapter 5**_

Seductive Hunting

Sunny initiated her trap to trace the frequency of the unknown man who had been communicating with her. Cautiously she answered her transceiver. "Hello?"

The line remained silent for a moment, than began to buzz as the man answered, "Sypher."

"What?"

"Call me Sypher."

"Sypher, huh? Why are you helping me?"

"Like I said, we have similar goals. The easiest way to get to the Right-Arm is through the underground tunnel located in the boiler room of this wing. From the Right-Arm you will find a catwalk that leads to the Right-Leg. You will find your scientist there."

"How did you-"

The line suddenly went dead. Sunny looked down at the screen on her wrist, "He left too soon, no trace. Maybe next time would hold more luck."

Sunny stood and made her way to the door. She cracked it open and peeked out slowly; no one was there. She found it odd, as she thought this place would be under heavier guard. But this is a research facility, so maybe they did not think they needed the added protection. No, something was amiss.

Then she thought about the SEALs team. Their transport had been shot down earlier, so it was plausible that the guards in the Arm Wings had been sent to neutralize the intruders. Regardless, she had to continue.

The female operative slipped out of the room and into the corridor. She still had to maintain silent footsteps, for the building still contained various teams of scientists that would surely alert the guards of her presence. She stalked down the hall, looking for any stairs or lifts that would lead to the boiler room. The corridor was plain, with no discerning features whatsoever.

She made her way down the corridor and approached a small hallway. As she came closer, the sounds of footsteps and voices crept toward her. She stopped and pressed to the wall. Her heart began to beat as the sounds came closer. She needed to find somewhere to hide, but there was no way of determining which of the rooms were empty and which contained researchers and scientists.

She bowed her head as the noises neared. She closed her eyes and they began to twitch as she began to process her plan of action. As the three men came around the corner, Sunny leaped toward them with a spinning somersault. Her forearm smashed into the first man's head, and her feet slammed into the second man's chest. Before the third man could react, she kicked in his knee with full force. The man's knee buckled and he fell to the floor as well. Sunny drew her stun pistol and fired three successive rounds into them.

Sunny stood and made sure the area was clear. The men were two guard and a scientists. She actually seemed relieved that patrols were still active in the area. At least she knew they were not setting any traps for her.

She disposed of the bodies in the room she had begun in and locked the door from the inside as she closed it. She returned to the hallway and began to journey deeper. There were plenty of rooms along the hallway, but no stairwells or lifts. Finally, she found a sign on the wall of an intersection with arrows denoting locations:

- Research of Projectiles

- Systems Analysis

- Security and Sentry

Sleeping Quarters -

Restrooms -

Boiler Room -

Sunny made her way to the right of the sign and continued to follow the tunneling passages. After what seemed an eternity, she finally reached a small set of stairs leading down. Unfortunately, as she came to the top of the stairs, a guard coming up spotted her.

"Hey! Who the hell are you?" he yelled.

Sunny froze and flinched. The guard began to approach her. "Do you have authorization to be here?" He asked. She remained silent and merely smiled. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" he yelled again.

Sunny lowered herself and threw her fist directly into the abdomen of the mercenary. The man let out a shocked gasp of air and fell down the stairs. He tumbled and rolled down to the bottom and struggled to lift his head.

She quickly ran down the stairs and punched him in the face. His head bounced back from the impact and smashed into the floor again as he fell unconscious. Sunny dragged the body behind the stair case and continued to the boiler room door at the bottom of the stairs. She pressed the switch to open the door…but nothing happened.

She pressed it again, and again nothing happened. After a few moments, the word LOCKDOWN flashed across the switch panel. Sunny flipped on her transceiver.

"Otacon, are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here Sunny. What's up?"

"The other frequency I have been communicating with, it does not show up on my feed. It is some man who says he wants to help. He knows we are looking for Victor and told me of an underground tunnel that connects the wings."

"Interesting, and why didn't you tell me this sooner."

"I wanted to see if it led to anything first. I have found the entrance of the boiler room where the tunnel is located, but it is locked. It says that it is under lockdown."

"Lockdown…maybe they have sealed the entrances to the arms because of the SEALs team."

"That sounds logical. Any ideas?"

"Try to find the security room. That should control the doors. If you can find the security room, you should be able to unlock it."

"Thanks, I will see what I can do. Maiden Out."

She turned from the door and made her way back up the stairs. She remembered seeing the security room on the sign with the arrows, but it was the opposite way than she had come. The operative sighed and began her trek back.

The woman stood in the center of the large room, with a strange grin. Her body was bound in tight, silver leather attire. Her long shimmering hair flowed naturally as she looked up. The commander of the Marine SEALs led his team toward her.

"Ma'am, are you okay?" he called out to her as he came closer, "Are you being held here, we can help you?"

The woman's grin grew wider.

"Ma'am, please answer me. What have they done to you?"

"Now," the woman said.

The commander looked at her confusingly. Suddenly, a soldier behind him fell to the ground as his head exploded from a single shot. As a startling realization set in, the commander ducked. "Sniper! Retreat men!" he yelled as the team scrambled for cover.

He took refuge behind a column and tried to discover the location of the sniper. He could not get a good view from his current position.

The woman met the gaze of one of the soldiers and twitched her head. The man stood and began to walk closer to her. "Hey!" the commander yelled to him, "What are you doing!"

The soldier ignored him and walked closer, "That's right…" The woman mused, "Come closer…feel my love…"

Another shot rang out and the soldier dropped. The commander looked up and saw him; a very thin, pale man with a disfigured face. He was picking them off one by one with a sniper rifle. The commander looked on is disgust as he saw the man actually licking his bullets before loading them.

The commander looked over to see another soldier walking out toward the woman. "Yes…" she said. "Come to me…" Without another thought the commander jumped from his cover and began to fire his gun. The woman leaped into the air, over the bullets and threw two throwing knives in front of her. The knives shot through the air and hit him in the right arm.

The force from the knives forced him to drop his rifle. Her spell was broken and the soldier came to his senses. It was too late. A third knife sped toward him and cut through his forehead. He fell to his knees and then to the floor.

The commander took cover behind the column once more. The woman began to laugh, "None of you are leaving this place. You have all come to meet your death." She began talking as she walked around the room. "Death is a wonderful lover. He leaves you with peace and without pain. He is silent and elusive…and oh the rush you get when he is near." She continued to laugh, "You all should be feeling that rush. Embrace it…welcome my lover into your arms!"

She threw two more knives into the distance; they bounced off of the walls and hit another soldier behind cover. The soldier staggered into the clearing and the sniper shot him without hesitation.

"Yes!" The woman shouted, "Death has come to all of you!" The commander looked over at what appeared to be the two only two remaining soldiers. He nodded and they nodded back. He threw a flash grenade in the center of the room. As the explosion rang out, he and his two troops fled back into the room from which they had entered.

All three men began breathing heavily. It had all happened so fast. Three of them were dead, killed in such short moments by only two people. "Freaks…" the commander mutter.

"What are we going to do?" one of the soldiers asked.

The commander shook his head, "We'll have to find another way."

"They will find us…they will.." the other soldier said.

The commander looked up at the two with a grim expression, "The woman was right. We will all meet our end here."


	7. Chapter 6 Gray Fox

_**Chapter 6**_

Gray Fox

The halls that housed the security room were heavily guarded, as Sunny had expected them to be. There were two sentries posted at the door, with two more mercenaries patrolling the halls. Her back pressed firmly against a nearby wall, she carefully peeked around the corner to scan the situation, thinking of an old trick Snake taught her in his program. She memorized the patterns of the patrolling guards and the positions of the two stationary ones. She then bowed her head and closed her eyes.

As her eyes twitched, her course of action became more detailed. She began taking deep breathes and focused more and more on her calculations of their movements, the size of the hallway, and the distance between them and her. Suddenly her eyes popped open, as if in a trance. She knocked on the wall lightly and the mercenary closest to her stopped in his tracks.

"Did you hear that?" he called out.

"Hear what?" another answered.

The guard turned, "Who's there?" There was no answer. The guard waited a moment, then turned back on his patrol. Sunny knocked again, this time a bit louder. The guard instantly turned with his rifle drawn. Another guard joined him.

"I heard it that time." He said, "What do you think it is?"

"The Americans maybe. Perhaps the commander's two 'generals' couldn't cut it."

"You two! Get over here!"

All four guards drew their rifles and began to approach the knocking sound. Sunny crouched and readied herself for action. Once they got close enough, she leaped from the corner in a handstand and wrapped her legs around the abdomen of the nearest mercenary, using the momentum from her jump to twist him off balance. He smashed into the other three and bunched them all against the wall.

Landing on her shoulders, she began to spin, her legs smashing into the four of them over and over again. She rolled over on her feet and leapt forward once more in a single, fluid motion. As she plowed toward them, she smashed her elbow into the throat of the first one and her head into the mouth of the second. She grabbed the rifle from the third mercenary and smashed the fourth in the side of the head. She landed in a crouch with the rifle aimed at the third mercenary, the only one who remained conscious.

"Please!" he cried out, "Don't shoot!"

Sunny grinned, "Then tell me what I want to know."

The guard bowed his head, "What is it that you want?"

"Firstly, how many of your comrades are on the other side of that door?"

"No one!"

"What?"

"Really! They put us on patrol outside to make sure no one got in to undo the lockdown until they caught the Americans!"

Sunny paused as if in thought, the spoke, "Can you override the lockdown?"

"And what happens when I do? You kill me anyway?"

"What is to stop me from doing it now?"

"Okay! I'll do it!"

The mercenary slowly began to walk, well aware of the assault rifle pressed against his back. He led her into the security room and began typing his credentials into the terminal. "What do you know about the Americans?" she asked.

"What?" the guard asked shockingly, "You are not with them?"

"No. I am here for my own reasons. Why are they here?"

"I am not sure as to their exact reasoning, but a month ago the Commander ran an operation in the NAA. We infiltrated a military base and stole a nuclear warhead. My guess is that they Americans discovered our location and retaliated."

"Interesting. My mother has been busy."

The guard looked up as the lockdown cleared on the screen, "Mother? You're the Commander's—" the guard slumped to the floor as Sunny bashed the butt of the rifle into his head. She threw down the rifle and began dragging the bodies of the other guards into the security room. Locking it as she did the office room earlier, she began her trek back toward the boiler room.

Sunny knew that it would not be long before FOX was on to her presence. She had come across too many inhabitants of the facility. Eventually one of them would wake from their slumber and alert the guard forces. Time was definitely a factor, and she knew it; but as long as she made it out of the Left-Arm Wing before then, she would be harder to track.

She made her way down the stairs to the door that led to the boiler room. The red signals that flashed LOCKDOWN earlier were gone, and the coast was clear. She slowly crept toward the door and opened it. No alarms sounded; she was in the clear. Or at least, she though she was.

As she entered the boiler room, she could see him standing there, with his arms folded. It was the man called Hunter. Sunny gasped as he came into view. He looked the same as before, but now he had black cloth-like material around the bridge of his nose and his mouth…almost like a ninja. He wielded only a small machete, but something told her that he could wield it to a deadly effect.

"This is my battle gear. It is more tradition than protection." He said gruffly. "She said you would come, and it appears she did not let me down. She never lets me down."

Sunny eyed him,"She? My mother?"

Hunter bowed his head, "You will not live long enough to see her in any case. You will die here tonight, by my hand."

"What? Who are you?"

"Hmph! You made a choice when you became Solid Snake's successor. You chose to carry on his name, and his many great victories. But you must also bear his failures, and his hardships. It was a choice that you made. I did not get the luxury of choice, of free will."

Sunny froze, "What…are you talking about?"

"You may not know me, by appearance at least. But I know you have heard my name many times. Both from Snake, and from Naomi."

"Naomi? Naomi!" She knew that name well. Naomi Hunter was the woman who had created the FOXDIE virus during the Shadow Moses Incident. She had also helped Sunny create the FOXALIVE computer virus that destroyed the Patriots sixteen years ago before dying of cancer. She looked up at him in disbelief, "Frank…Frank Jaeger? Gray Fox!"

Hunter flinched as he heard the words. "Frank Jaeger…Gray Fox…names that both of them knew well."

"You are…Naomi's brother? I thought you had died..."

"I am not Frank Jaeger. He is dead. I was cloned from him twenty years ago, spawned from the same procedure the Patriots used to create Solid Snake in the seventies."

Sunny gasped, "You're his clone?"

"When he was kidnapped by the Patriots in 1999 as a subject in their exoskeleton experiments, they took his DNA for safe keeping. After the explosion that killed Dr. Clark, the DNA was taken and they began working on new projects to create the next generation Solid Snake. Since Big Boss had turned his back on them, they needed a new specimen, and Frank Jaeger fit that mold."

Hunter turned, almost as if in disgust, "In 2010 when Solid Snake had been deemed an undeniable threat, they pulled the DNA they had collected from him and the data from Raiden in the SSS project and recreated the process used to create the Sons of Big Boss. I am the result: the next generation Solid Snake."

"So you were cloned the same way Snake was. You're Frank Jaeger's son?"

"If you want to put it that way, I suppose I am. But one thing the Patriots did not foresee was the deep seeded respect and hatred Gray Fox had for Snake. I have inherited those feelings. They haunt me, consume me. They only way I knew to get rid of this rage was to kill Solid Snake; imagine my horror when I learned that he had already passed, as an old and broken shell of a man."

"Damn you!" Sunny yelled, "Snake was my friend! He was an honorable man! Do not speak of him in such a way!"

Hunter chuckled eerily, "And what will you do? Attack me? That is what I want! My rage is not something I asked for! They did this to me! The damned Patriots! I do not want to feel this rage! But you…you _chose_ to take on Snake's burdens! And this is one of them! As his successor, you are the only one who can make my madness end! You must kill me or I must kill you! Show me your anger, Sunny Gurlukovich! Show me your rage!"

Hunter leapt at her with his blade drawn. Sunny rolled out of his path, narrowly dodging the cold steel as it arched downward. Sunny drew her gun and fired, only to have her bullets deflected by his machete. "You" he said calmly, "You are shaking."

Sunny kept her baretta aimed at his chest as her hand trembled. Hunter began to chuckle, "You have never taken a life!"

She stood stern, but her eyes widened in shock.

"This is just great! Heir to the legendary Solid Snake, and you have never killed! You cannot hope to stand against me the way you are now!" he stood and sheathed his machete. "You will live for now. You are still too green to face me in a death match. I cannot kill you until you are evenly matched with me."

"You bastard…"

"Ha…we will meet again, you can be certain. You inherited from Snake and I inherited from Gray Fox. We are destined to meet each other in battle. Our fates will always intertwine…"

He turned and began to walk toward the Left-Arm Wing. "I will not interfere with your progress. If you can stop the Metal Gear before I kill you, then so be it. Your life is all that concerns me. Until then, I suppose my nightmares and my rage will continue."

The door closed behind him and Sunny took a deep breath as she collapsed on the floor. Her earpiece began to vibrate.

"This is…Maiden." She said softly.

"Maiden, this is Otacon. Did I just hear him correctly? Did he just say what I think he did?"

"Yes. He is Frank Jaeger's clone, the Patriot's new attempt at Solid Snake before they were destroyed."

"That poor man. To have to bear the things that Snake had to. When will this madness end? Sunny, are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah I…I will be fine." Sunny got to her feet and took a deep breath, "I am almost to the Right-Arm. Victor Ward should be there."

"Okay Sunny. You better be careful. Snake would never forgive me if—"

"Do not worry. I will not die here. At least not before I find my mother…"

"That isn't so comforting, Sunny." Otacon said.

Sunny bowed her head and cut communications.


	8. Chapter 7 Sole Survivor

_**Chapter 7**_

Sole Survivor

The NAA Marine SEALS sat with their backs against the wall, silent and grimaced at their inevitable demise. "So if we advance we die, and if we stay here we eventually become cornered and we die." The commander's voice was fragile…broken.

"If we are to die either way," one of the two remaining marines said, "then I would much rather us die fighting than waiting here."

"Agreed," the other nodded, "If we die, let's die on our terms, not theirs."

A tear streamed down the cheek of the commander, "My little girl will be eight this month, you know. She said I would be in trouble if I missed it."

Both of the men nodded. "My wife begged me not to accept the offer into the Marine SEALS," the first one said.

"What about you," the commander asked the other.

"My dad used to be military, my mother was very overbearing because she loved me a whole lot. I don't have anyone else in my life. Don't much want anyone in my life…because my life would ruin theirs."

It was the commander who nodded now, "I see, and I suppose you are right. My little girl is going to hate me now. She's going to be miserable for the rest of her life…and there is nothing I can do about it."

The first marine stood, "Maybe there is. There is always a chance as long as we keep fighting. The other two stood and drew their rifles.

"Okay, men!" the commander stated, "Shoot anything that moves. Do not let that bitch get a chance to breathe. Stay behind cover and out of the sights of that sniper. If all else fails, throw a flash grenade and get your asses out of there!"

The other men nodded and the commander took a deep breath. "This is for you, Janie." He whispered as he kicked the door open. The Marine SEALS stormed the room with their rifles drawn intently. They kept behind any objects that they could see and remained ready to open fire at a moment's notice. The room was empty.

"Clear," the second marine said.

"What games are these people playing with us?" the commander asked with frustration.

The two marines continued to look around. "There is no one here, sir." They both confirmed the results.

"Welcome back, my dears." A voice came from the other side of the room. All three men looked up to see the woman standing in the doorway. "Don't worry about my friend. We are alone now. He is currently tracking another…prey. It would appear that you handsome soldiers aren't our only intruders."

The commander stepped forward with is rifle raised. "And you wish to stand against all of us?"

"Of course. I have not been so pleasured in such a long time. Three men…oh the thought of it, the joy of it. My lover, where are you? Come to me, Death! Embrace me! Show them our love!" The commander opened fire, the other two joined in an instant. The woman leaped high into the air, far above the gunfire. She landed behind the men with a shrill laughter. "I told you that you will die tonight? Are you really so eager to meet my lover that you would come back?"

The marine commander immediately turned and lunged at her with his combat knife drawn. The other two drew their knives and went in for the attack as well. She caught the commander's hand and plunged his knife into the shoulder of the first soldier and threw the commander's arm into the path of the second one's attack. The knife cut into the commander's arm and she did a sweeping kick, sending them all on their backs. She forced her foot into the head of the second marine, smashing it between her foot and the stone floor.

"What…are you?" the commander asked.

The woman giggled with a blush, "I am Death's lover, his chosen. He loves me and will not allow me to die. And any who threaten me will be plunged into oblivion! He…loves me so."

"Perhaps, you are right. It seems that you are indeed favored."

A knife shot from beside the commander and sped toward the woman. She threw her head to the side and the knife cut through stray strands of her hair. She spun and launched two knifes of her own back at her attacker. The first marine lay dead, hit in the eye and in the throat. The second marine was still down, his consciousness slowly returning. The commander got to his feet and readied himself for hand-to-hand combat. The woman simply grinned and braced herself. The commander launched in for a punch, and the woman did a dodge spin to avoid it. The commander had anticipated this and tricked her, as she spun right into a chokehold. The woman gasped in a panic and struggled to catch her breath.

"I do not wish to kill you. Please, allow me and my marine to leave. Surrender and you live."

The woman stopped struggling. The commander loosed his grip. "You will face a trial in America for your crimes, but you will live."

The woman smiled, "You will face judgment. My lover has come for you."

"Wha-" the commander gasped as her leg shot up from the floor, pressed against the front of her body, and smashed into his forehead. Her flexibility amazed him as he fell to his knees. She was a trained, focused predator.

She drew long, silver dagger from her belt, "He is here…embrace him. Oh the ecstasy! You were a great partner, but my lover is here to claim his rightful place at my side."

The commander had one final though as the cold steel sliced through the ligaments in his throat. _Janie…Happy Birthday._

His lifeless body hit the floor in a heap and the woman turned to the final marine, the sole survivor. She stood over him, dagger readied. "It would seem you are the luckiest of them all. My Death has spared you until now. But he claims everyone eventually." She raised the dagger to plunge into him, when a loud shot rang throughout the large room. She looked up to see a man standing at the doorway.

He wore a long black trench coat, with a matching skull cap covering the top of his head and dark shades over his eyes. Ammunition straps filled with shotgun shells crossed his chest in an 'X' shape. He wielded two sawn-off shotguns, with maces at the end of the grips. The man grinned, "Leave the marine alone. You people have done enough."

She grinned back, "Mmmmm…a new playmate. How…pleasing."

"Face me. I will challenge your 'Death' and if you kill me, then you may kill the marine."

"And who are you? Who is giving me such a wonderful proposition?"

"Of course, I would never deny a lady my name. You can call me Sypher, and what name belies such beauty?"

"I am called Damsel. You are a charmer?"

"Ha, only until you get to know me."

Sypher rushed toward her, the dual shotguns shooting off rounds. She noticed that his guns were modified to be able to rapid-fire their shells. She managed to dodge the shots as she charged at him as well, shooting her throwing knives from her finger tips. The knives zipped past him as he continued toward her. She leaped to the side and threw two knives at once, he ducked and slid under the blades as he opened fire on her new position.

He stood to his feet, his guns out of ammo. Damsel stared him down, with a single throwing knife left. He knew he had no time to reload, so he threw his shotguns up and caught them by the barrels to wield them as dual maces. "So here we are, our battle at a climax."

"Battle?" Damsel questioned with a grin, "I thought for sure we were in the throes of passion. My lover is so near…I can feel him."

Damsel threw her last knife to distract him, and drew both of her daggers as she rushed him. Sypher dodged the knife quickly and ran towards her as well. The two met on the battlefield and he used his maces to parry her constant barrage of slices. She continued to thrust and slash and the daggers bounced from his maces again and again.

She finally slowed, beginning to run low on stamina. He took this opportunity and slammed the end of one of his maces into her abdomen. She gasped as the breath left her lungs and stumbled back. She grinned, "You are wonderful…you remind me of my lover."

"Well I've learned quite a lot from him." He smirked, "Tell your commander that you have yet another intruder, and that he will not be taken down so easily. Tell her that I am here for _them_.

"Them?"

"Your investors."

"You will die tonight. But first, I want you to kill the marine." Damsel twitched her eyes in an attempt to charm him, the ability she possessed to make the opposite sex do her bidding. But it did not seem to be working.

"Maybe so, but your lover will find you before either of us. Don't bother with your manipulation trick either, that's what these shades are for." He motioned to his sun glasses and smirked, "Now go. It's hard for me to kill such a pretty face."

"As you wish." She stood and a single tear come from her eye. "I hope you are right, handsome…I hope he finally takes me tonight. Life is so…lonely."

Damsel retreated from the room and Sypher knelt to the still injured Marine SEAL, the lone survivor. "What is your name, soldier?"

The man got to his feet, the room finally ceasing to spin. "My name is John."


	9. Chapter 8 Taste of Prey

_**Chapter 8**_

Taste of Prey

Sunny Gurlukovich emerged from the underground tunnel, unaware that she was already being stalked by the elusive sniper. The Right-Arm Wing was filled with big, open rooms used for storing the various objects that research had been taking place on. The sniper stayed in the shadows of the rafters and observed the female operative carefully. He was extremely pale and wiry, with most of his teeth gone or rotted. He was not old, but seemed very malnourished. His tongue was longer than average, which gave him a pronounced lisp when pronouncing the letter 'S'. He loved the hunt, he lived for it. He had loved the hunt his entire life. And finally that wretched woman let him have a prey all to himself. He would not kill her yet, however. He would wait…he would savor this beautiful trophy.

Sunny made her way down the hall, her heart still racing from the encounter with Hunter. _Gray Fox_, she thought. But then her thoughts went to his sister. _Naomi...I miss you Naomi_. She grimaced as the memories returned. She had lost so many people as a little girl. Her mother, then Naomi, then Snake.

They were all so important to her, but they had all left her. As a little girl, Sunny had had a very tough time dealing with the concept of death, and truly understanding what it meant. All she knew at the time was that her mother and Naomi were never coming back to see her. But Snake…she had prepared herself for his death. And she was at his side with Otacon as it happened. She loved Snake dearly, perhaps more than the other two. He was her mentor, her friend. He had always protected her…but in the end he was gone as well. Just like Naomi. Just like her mother.

And yet, her mother…still alive? The thought was bittersweet. Her mother was indeed alive and well, and she felt blessed to have a second chance to meet her. But she was a terrorist now, planning to go to war with the entire world. What was she thinking? Sunny knew, deep down, that even if she found her mother she would not be the same. The man called Sypher was right, if she intended to live through this mission, she would not be able to allow herself to see with her emotions. Truly, the only person in the world she had, the only person she ever had, would be her Uncle Hal.

She continued down the corridor and made her way to one of the massive storage rooms. As she entered, she heard voices coming her way and immediately took cover behind a collection of missiles. It was two soldiers, talking to one another as they made their way through the room.

"The American intruders are dead. Damsel killed them all herself."

"Really? I thought the sniper had a part in it."

"That freak? I heard he mostly just watched like some twisted pervert."

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to piss that thing off if I were you. I heard that once he gets your taste, you are pretty much dead."

"Yeah, the whole unit that the commander has gathered creeps me out. FOX? They have never had the most normal of reputations anyways."

"Yeah you're ri-" the soldier suddenly dropped with a single round to the head. Sunny's head shot up to take a good look. She had no idea where the shot had come from.

"What the hell?" the other soldier cried out. He began running for the door, but was too late. His body tumbled to the floor and began sliding from his momentum as a second shot found its mark perfectly.

Sunny took low cover, "What's going on? An ally?" She drew her baretta and held it in front of her with her finger on the trigger. She slowly raised her head above the missiles, but could not see anything. "Who's there?" she asked. No answer. She quickly fell back into cover. It was dangerous to leave her position, but she knew she could not stay there all night. "Who's there?" she asked again. Still no answer came. Then, as if from nowhere at all a pale, slender man leaped to the ground from the ceiling. He was dressed in grey rags, presumably for camouflaging purposes, and carried what looked to be a highly customized vintage sniper rifle.

_The sniper they were talking about?_ She wondered, _Isn't he on their side?_

The sniper stalked around their bodies with a sadistic grin, "Freak? You call me a freak? I am one with nature! Yesss…you should have more ressspect!"

Sunny was disgusted at the man's grotesque appearance, more interested in what he was up to. The sniper pulled out an old hunting knife and knelt down to the first body. Sunny could not see what he was doing, but knew he was carving or cutting something that sounded like flesh. The sniper laughed eerily as he got to his feet walked over to the second. "Creepy huh? And did you call me an 'it' little man?" He knelt down once more, this time facing Sunny's direction. She flinched in horror as she saw was he was doing. The sniper was cutting the man's tongue from his mouth. He opened a leather pouch attached to his belt and placed the tongues inside. "Mmmm…more tassstersss are mine. It hasss been ssso long sssince I have been able to take sssome new onesss."

He put his knife up, then lay his rifle down and took a big grin. As if it happened in an instant, he leapt against the wall and launched off, landing on Sunny and forcing her to the ground. Her gun slid across the floor and she gasped as he held her down and stared down at her. "Yesss, my prey." She was paralyzed with fear as the grotesque face hovered over hers. "Thossse men. They were mean to me. They did not respect me…or fear me. I had to kill them."

Sunny nodded nervously and the man smiled, his jagged brown teeth flashing more fear into her. "You underssstand. Maybe you are different. Why isss ssshe making me kill you, pretty girl. You are…beautiful."

Sunny's fear grew even deeper. He did intend to kill her. He saw the fear in her eyes, and smiled even wider, "You even fear me. I can feel it. I cannot, not yet. Once sssuch as you ssshould be allowed to live, if even for a moment longer." He grinned and leaned his head closer to her. His long, slender tongue began to leave his mouth, like a snake crawling from its cave. Sunny shuddered with terror, disgust, and cold shivers as the man's tongue pushed against her face. "Your tassste isss mine. I will alwaysss find you now. You are mine. You are mine!" Shrill laughter rang throughout the room as the man leapt back to his rifle, picked it up, and launched himself back into the rafters in almost an instant.

Sunny lay on the cold floor shivering. Hunter was right, she was still green. Tears fell from her eyes as she shook. She had failed him. She would never be Snake. She was a fool. She was a child, like he said. If a single encounter did this to her, how could she hope to survive the night. "Snake…please, help me snake. Uncle Hal…" Her thoughts began to drift away.

She sat beside the old man, both sitting on the floor with their backs against the wall. "S-S-S-Snake. I want to b-b-be like you!" she said.

He grunted. "You don't want to be me, kid. I've done too many bad things in the world."

"N-n-n-no. You are a-a-a h-h-hero. Y-y-you s-s-s-save people."

"And I kill others. I am a tormented old fool, Sunny. I face battle and murder when I am awake, and I relive them in my sleep. I am never at peace. I have never known peace. I do not want that for you. You have…too much to live for, so drop it."

That was one of only two moments she saw it in his eyes. The compassion he had for her, the faith he had in her. She was the closest thing to a daughter he had ever had, or ever would have. He genuinely cared for her well being, even if the gruff soldier would never admit it. But that only served to make her more determined.

"I-I-I-I will be like you S-S-Snake. I will Mmm-m-make you and Uncle Hal proud of me! And…m-m-mom. And mom!"

"We are already proud of you. And your mother would shoot you for even thinking of doing what you're doing. So drop it."

"B-b-but mom was a s-s-soldier too! Just like y-y-you."

"And she had demons, just like me. I was like you once." Snake paused for a moment and continued, "I was young, idealistic. I thought I was immortal and I could do anything. I wanted to fight, to find my place in the world."

"B-but you a-a-are immortal, Snake."

"Haha. It's worse than dying on the battlefield. After everything this body has survived beyond all reasoning…I am dying simply because it is shutting down."

"S-Snake…"

"I never lived, Sunny. I never had a family, never had a life. It was always war. And now my struggle is over…but I don't have much longer. So let me live, Sunny. Be yourself and of course that damn coot Otacon will be his self. Not that I'm looking forward to that."

Sunny and the old soldier laughed and she let the argument go for a while. The first time she saw how much he cared for her was then. And the second? The second time was the day when his body finally did shut down...

She closed her eyes tightly to battle the pain of the memories. The operative got to her feet and retrieved her gun as she wiped the tears from her eyes. She straightened her back and stood firm and wiped her cheek as hard as she could. She would survive tonight. She would stop the Metal Gear and the FOX unit. She owed it to Snake, to Otacon. Tonight was the night that she would prove herself worthy to Snake. She would make him proud. She stood tall in her resolution as her earpiece began to vibrate.

"Maiden here," she responded.

Otacon cleared his throat, "Are you okay, Sunny? You sound like you have been crying."

"I am fine. I was thinking…of you and Snake."

"Sunny…"

"I am fine. And I am Maiden over communications."

"Right. I apologize. What's your status?"

"I am in the Right-Arm Wing at the moment. I just encountered the sniper, Dead-Aim. He…marked me or something. He said he was hunting me, so they know that I am here now for sure."

"Strange…and the scientist?"

"I should locate him soon. I just need to find the catwalk leading to the Right-Leg Wing."

"The Leg structures house your mother's private military. Be careful."

"Affirmative. I will contact you again when my situation updates. Maiden Out."

"Be careful Maiden…don't do anything rash."

Sunny cut communications and holstered her gun. Her resolve was solid, and her terror began to subside. She clinched her fists tightly and continued out of the storage room through the rest of the Right-Arm Wing. Her awareness was greatly increased now, for she knew she was being hunted. But she still did not know that the sniper was very close to her then entire time she was in the building.


	10. Chapter 9 An Old Friend

_**Chapter 9**_

An Old Friend

The door opened and Sunny made her way out into the hallway, slowly and cautiously. The hall was clear for now, but she was certain that someone had heard the shots of Dead-Aim's sniper rifle and would investigate the room soon. She had to gain as much distance from it as possible before that happened. She soon made her way to another security room that was oddly empty. After pulling up schematics of the immediate area, she committed them to memory and plotted her course to reach the Right-Leg of the facility.

"Freeze!" she heard as she exited the room. She knew it was too easy. It was a trap. She began formulating her battle strategy as she glanced to the side from her peripheral vision. Her eyes widened in shock. "Don't move!" the man yelled again.

"You are American." She stated.

The man staggered a bit, "I am. You people killed my entire unit. You are gonna pay for that!"

"Marine SEAL. So you survived."

"Sorry I can't say the same for you." He approached her and placed the gun to the side of her head. "Tell me one reason why I shouldn't kill you now."

Sunny turned and faced him, "Because I am on your side."

The soldier stopped in his tracks, "Sunny?"

A perplexing look crossed her face. "What? Who are you? How do you know me?"

The Marine SEAL took off his mask. It was John, son of Raiden and Rosemary. "John!" she exclaimed as she embraced him without thought. He immediately threw his arms around her as well. "Sunny what are you doing here?"

She looked to the floor in silence for a moment, then spoke, "My mother is here. She is…alive."

"What? Where is she? We must rescue her!"

"That will not be necessary."

"What, why not? What happened, Sunny?"

"She is in command of this entire facility. She is the commander of FOX."

"Oh my God, Sunny. Are you okay?"

"I am. I want to face her, I have so many questions."

"Yeah I understand that."

Sunny's eyes narrowed, "Speaking of questions, why are you here John?"

John nodded and lowered his gun, "A group of terrorists infiltrated the Pentagon and stole one of our prototype warheads. Our intelligence placed the group as a terrorist unit calling itself FOX. The NAA believes they plan to use the warhead against the New European Federation to cause a war between our countries. We were deployed here to retrieve the missile."

"That makes sense," Sunny stated.

John now looked perplexed, "What does?"

"FOX is going to war with the three superpowers: NAA, NEF, and USSR. If they start a conflict before they make their move, it will be much easier for them to succeed."

"How do you know this?"

"I have done a lot of reconnaissance. They are building a new Metal Gear here, called Metal Gear Moses. They claim it can cripple an entire nation in days. And there was another man, in a dress suit. He seemed to be in charge."

John looked startled, "An investor."

"Who?" Sunny seemed intrigued.

John took a deep breath, "My unit was attacked by a sniper and a female assassin. They wiped out everyone. The assassin killed my commanding officer and was going to kill me, but a man saved me. He said he was here to kill the investors of the project, said his name was Sypher."

"Sypher?" Sunny was startled. "So he _is_ real. He contacted me and said he was here to help. I assumed FOX was playing games. Who is he?"

"I dunno," John replied, "but he saved my life. He left me so he could finish his work and I have been ambushing soldiers as they come into the security room, trying to thin their numbers."

"Interesting. This is becoming more complex than I thought. There is one more thing, John. Something that makes all of this even stranger."

"What is it? What could be worse?"

"They stole Snake's remains. He is here as well."

"What?" John exclaimed, "What is going on here."

"I am not sure, but we need to move. The sniper you spoke of, his name is Dead-Aim and he is hunting me."

"That's just great. What are we going to do?"

"The only thing we can do. We must find Victor Ward. He is a lead scientist here and led me and Otacon to the new Metal Gear before they captured him for treason. He is our best shot at making sense of all of this.

"Sunny…" John breathed.

"Yes?"

"Who…are these people?" John began to shake, "The woman called Damsel. She killed my commander, my friends, and could have killed me. She was…Death. No, she claimed to be Death's lover."

Sunny sighed, "I don't know, John. The sniper is unworldly as well. I saw him mutilate his own men…without a second thought. I am hoping that Victor Ward can shed some light on this for us. He is being held in a room in the Right-Leg Wing of this complex."

"Yeah, I hope you are right. Let's g—"

John was cut off by a sudden alarm in the building. The alarm rang loudly and echoed through the halls. Gurlukovich Mercenaries filled the halls in an instant, their guns aimed at Sunny and John. John threw a rifle to Sunny and the two stood at a standoff with the mercenaries. One of the soldiers stepped forward and took off his black ski-mask.

"My name is Yuriv Kisnov," he stated in broken English and a thick Russian accent, "You two are under arrest for trespassing in this facility. You have seen classified information and cannot be allowed to leave here alive. We ask that you surrender peacefully in order to maintain Commander Gurlukovich's wishes to keep you both alive."

"My mother..?" Sunny asked softly.

"What?" the man asked confusedly, "The commander is your mother?"

"No!" John yelled, "Sunny, if they take us, there is no way we will get out of here alive. We have to find Victor Ward first. We have to destroy Metal Gear."

"We? You mean…"

"Yes, Sunny. Together! But we cannot let them take us!"

Yuriv laughed gruffly, "You act as if you have a choice, American."

John aimed the gun at his head, "Either way, we will die. We might as well avoid the torture and have a chance of surviving."

Yuriv grinned and a shot rang out, killing a soldier to his right. The other soldiers rushed forward, with their guns drawn. Sunny and John looked around as well.

"Hold your fire!" Yuriv yelled, "They did not shoot and we need them alive! Stay alert!" The mercenaries aimed their sights all about the halls, but saw nothing. Then two more shots rang from the ventilation duct. Two more men fell. "Sniper!" he yelled as another soldier dropped. The mercenaries began to fire everywhere.

Using the unexpected chaos, Sunny grabbed John and rushed into the room across from the security room. She quickly closed and locked the door. She flipped her body to the side of the door as shots began to fire through it.

She could hear the men screaming as the sniper's bullets ripped through flesh and bone. The remaining soldiers retreated and the shots stopped. John looked relieved, but the look on Sunny's face was grim and pale.

"What is it?" he asked.

She swallowed hard and readied her rifle, "The sniper was Dead-Aim. He wanted us for himself and he has us trapped now…"


	11. Chapter 10 DeadAim

_**Chapter 10**_

Dead-Aim

Sunny held the rifle sternly as she searched around the room. It was another storage room, nearly identical to the one she was in before. In fact, John saw that it was similar to the room he was attacked in as well. The rafters in these storage rooms seemed to make them prime hunting grounds for the eerie sniper. The operative and the Marine SEAL honed their senses as they explored the room.

"We should get to some cover quickly," John said in a whisper, "This guy fires quickly and will not hesitate to kill us."

Sunny nodded, "I agree, though he has been hesitating to kill _me_. I think he is trying…to savor me as his prey."

John looked at the girl questioningly, but decided it was a better idea to find the cover before questioning her. The two made their way to a collection of steel crates, and both released their grips on their rifles as they fell behind the crates in solace. It was the same feeling as being home; coming in from a long day and knowing nothing can bother you there. "So what are we going to do?" John looked despaired, "How are we going to beat this thing? It destroyed half of my unit."

Sunny bowed her head, "I do not know, but we have to. Either that…or we die."

"Any ideas?"

"If we can lure him out, then we have the advantage. He is an ambusher, not a fighter."

"And how are we gonna do that?"

Sunny hesitated, filled with doubt. "I do not know…" she whispered softly.

A single shot rang throughout the storage room. A thunderous clamor filled the room as the bullet struck the floor by the entrance door. "He's playing a game with us…" John said. Sunny nodded. She grinned and began firing up into the rafters with her rifle. A shot whizzed past her head and hit the wall behind them. She quickly returned to her cover. "What are you doing?" John asked in shock.

"I am calling his bluff. He wants us to be scared before he kills us. If he wants to play, then let us play with him."

"Ah, I get it." John now grinned back at her, "On three."

The two counted to three, then both rose and opened fire into the rafters. Three sniper shots rang out in retaliation, missing them intentionally. Then, Sunny caught a glimpse of him. The rag-cloaked sniper was moving with the speed of a striking viper, evading their rounds while firing his own. Sunny did a cartwheel from the cover and fired where she predicted he would jump. Without realizing what she had done, Dead-Aim rolled into one of her shots.

He screamed out in agony as blood began to leak from his arm. Sunny and John returned to cover to regroup.

"How did you do that?" John asked.

"While I was in the custody of the Patriots, they exposed to me to cybernetic tests daily. As a result, I have a large capacity for logic and prediction. I can read enemy movements and react to them very quickly."

"Wow," John grinned, "You are a bad ass, Sunny Gurlukovich. Sexy."

Sunny smiled and blushed a bit, "I am not a sucker for flattery, Mr. Marine. I am here to do a job."

Another shot rang out, this time bouncing from the top of the crates that they were hiding behind. "He's recuperated quickly," John observed, "It must have only been a flesh wound."

"Well then," Sunny said, "Let us give him a deeper one."

Sunny leaped from behind the crates and aimed her rifle to fire…but there was no one there in the rafters. In what seemed to be a blink of an eye, Dead-Aim had tackled John and landed on her. She fell to the ground once more, the all-too-familiar fear creeping back up her spine. His tongue slithered up her neck as he smiled down at her. "My prey…you hurt me. But you will learn, yesss you will learn."

John got back to his feet and kicked the sniper in the side. Dead-Aim landed in a roll and began to leap from wall to wall until he was back within the shadows of the rafters. Sunny tried to get to her feet as John went to her aid, but another shot hit the floor between them. The two stumbled back and crawled behind the crates as soon as they could.

"So much speed…" Sunny sighed.

John took a deep breath, "I should have shot the bastard instead of kicking him. I suppose I wasn't thinking clearly."

"Because you were focused on protecting me," Sunny smiled, "Perhaps I am a sucker after all."

She blushed and for the first time that night, John saw the fear and vulnerability in her eyes. He smiled back and picked up his rifle, "You hit that thing. That means he is not invincible. There is a chance for us to survive, and I intend to take it."

"What do are you thinking?"

"This is a weapons and munitions storage, right? Which means there must be a sniper rifle in here. I will distract him; you stay behind cover and find a rifle, then beat him at his own game."

Sunny's eyes widened, "You want me to out sniper him?"

John reassured her, "You can do it. You are Snake's protégé and you damn sure have the reflexes."

Sunny smiled and nodded, "Okay, we can do this. Do not get yourself killed before I can get to a rifle."

"Agreed. Now go."

John began firing and Sunny set off, keeping behind crates and barrels as much as she could. While the sniper was focused on her new companion, she meticulously searched open crates and the labels of closed crates. She had little luck, however, for virtually all of the crates were filled with ammo, not weapons. It seemed that the crates obtaining the weapons were on the other side of the room. It was still likely that a sniper rifle could be found, but she would have to venture across the room in the open to get there.

She kneeled behind some barrels and closed her eyes. They began to twitch as she mapped out the room in her head and predicted where his bullets would go as he fired on her. John had his attention now, but there was no way that he would not target her when she ran across the open space of the room. They began to twitch quicker and more wildly as her course of action became more detailed. She sketched her predictions like a moving picture, noting the position of everything and including it in her plans.

Her mind raced like a computer when she did this, with electrical impulses shooting wildly through the tissue beneath her skull. Suddenly her eyes opened and every muscle in her body constricted. She leapt from the barrels and landed in a sprint across the room. She began a series of jumps, leaps, and cartwheels across the room, dodging all of the sniper's shots. He was toying with her at first, but then became increasingly infuriated that he could not hit her.

The Maiden rushed across the room, apparently impossible to hit. Dead-Aim began to scream in frustration, and then something happened. Something happened that had never happened to him before. He ran out of bullets in his clip and his preys were still alive. He let out an aggravated sigh as he reloaded his rifle. This gave Sunny ample time to make it to the collection of weapons on the other side of the room. She flipped over the crates and landed in cover.

John watched with admiration. She was continuing to impress him with everything she did. Yes, he had known her all of his life, but he had never known her capable of this. She was always weak, needing others. But now she was…grown up. She was strong, resolute. She was…beautiful.

Sunny searched the crates but still had little luck. John and Dead-Aim continued to exchange fire as she continued to search. Finally, she found a crate of Dragunov sniper rifles. She drew her beretta handgun and fired on the lock until the crate opened. She pushed the crate on its side and the rifles rolled out. She quickly grabbed one and began to load it.

The sniper continued to fire at the Marine SEAL, knowing the entire time what they were planning to do. He should have killed them much sooner, but he had never savored a kill the way he was now. It was exciting, it was dangerous, it was ecstasy. But it was time for it to end, before it got out of hand. He grinned and began leaping upon the rafters, travelling across the ceiling of the room until he spotted the girl trying to load the sniper rifle.

Dead-Aim quickly placed her in his sites and fired. She heard the shot just in time to do a barrel roll back behind the crates. The shot hit the floor exactly where she was. She knew that the sniper was going for kill-shots now. She finished loading the rifle and began searching for her adversary through the scope. Another shot fired, this one at John. She adjusted her sights on her to make sure he was okay.

The Marine SEAL had dodged the shot by luck. The sniper was trying to kill them now, he knew. The game was over, but for whom? He reloaded his assault rifle and began to fire back. Dead-Aim leapt from place to place, seemingly possessing the ability to instantly find his target in his scope. As soon as he would land, his eyes would be looking through the scope and he would fire. It was nearly impossible for John to get an accurate shot before Dead-Aim either moved or shot his own rounds.

Sunny took a deep breath and began to concentrate on the lightning-fast hunter. He _was_ certainly fast, but he was becoming predictable. He moved in specific patterns, patterns that reminded her of Spetsnaz, the Russian Special Forces. She continued to breathe heavily and then held her breath completely. As soon as the sniper landed she shot. The bullet ripped through his arm, forcing his rifle to fall to the ground. Before he could react, she landed another shot in his leg. The sniper fell from the rafters and hit the floor with a thud. She immediately leapt from the crates and fired once more, hitting him in the abdomen. Throwing down her rifle, she drew her handgun and approached with caution. John joined her and they met on opposite sides of the fallen sniper.

"Ssshe isss the one. The one to kill me. I never thought ssshe would be." He laughed eerily.

Sunny and John held their guns to him. Sunny slowly lowered her weapon as blood began to trickle from his mouth. "What is she up to? My mother?"

"Ahhh…your mother. Ssshe did not tell me you were her daughter. Perhapsss ssshe knew that you would kill me. It appearsss that I have been played."

"What are you talking about?" Sunny asked.

"You are the commander'sss daughter. Ssshe knowsss you are here. Ssshe sssent me to tessst you. Ssshe must have known you would passsss…"

"She is testing me? Why? What is she up to?"

"Ssshe meant for me to die and for you to live. It makesss sssenssse now. But…too late…" He laughed eerily and then his lifeless head fell to the side as his eyes closed.

Sunny knelt down, her eyes watering, "I…killed him."

"What? Sunny, you had to."

"I killed him." Her voice became almost a whisper.

John sighed at her pain. He suddenly remembered what he had felt like the first time he killed someone. Then, he heard a sharp beeping. A small metallic device rolled in between them.

"Sunny! Move!" John pushed Sunny back and leaped back himself as the explosion sounded.

Startled, Sunny got to her feet to realize that the room had been divided by rubble. "John!" she yelled as she ran to the rubble. "John! Answer me! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Sunny." He finally answered. "Go on without me. As soon as I find a way out I will find you again, I promise. Someone attacked us, so get ou—"

Their conversation was cut short by the sound of clapping. Sunny looked behind her to find Hunter clapping and approaching her. "Well done, Sunny. You did what was necessary to survive. You've taken a life and are one step closer to facing me in true battle."

"Who the hell are you?" John yelled, "Leave her alone!"

Hunter merely smiled, "Go find Victor Ward." He walked past her and approached the rubble. "I will free him in the meantime. I separated you two so that you could continue on your own for a bit and it will make you stronger. All I care about is our fight to the death. Get stronger Sunny…I want to earn my victory."

Sunny felt the massive confusion hit her like a boulder. She was angry, terrified, and sad at the same time. She had killed someone; she had taken a life just like he wanted her to. Perhaps, that is what her mother had wanted all along. Maybe she _was _testing her. Sunny nodded and bowed her head. She wanted to be alone anyway. She did not want John to see her like this. Besides, something inside told her that Hunter would not hurt him. He really was only interested in fighting her to the death. He seemed to care nothing about the rest of FOX's plans. She slowly exited the room, despair devouring her soul.


	12. Chapter 11 Finding Victor Ward

_**Chapter 11**_

Finding Victor Ward

Sunny made her way into the Right Leg wing, her heart racing and her thoughts spiraling out of control. Hunter was right, she was no Snake. Her first kill was already haunting her, choking her from within. How could she hope to stand against him, against any of them, if she could not kill them. And then it hit her, like knife plunging into her gut. Would she be able to kill her mother? What if Olga would not see reason, what if she had to stop her? Could she? What if Olga tried to kill her? Could she defend herself if it meant killing the person she had always wished were still alive?

The thoughts would not stop bombarding her, choking her. As she stalked down the hall, she tried to block them from her mind, tried to stay focused on the mission. But they would not subside. She kept thinking of Hunter and how he would kill her if she could not kill him. She kept thinking of Olga and if she could bring herself to completing her mission.

She stopped at the corner and peered around to see two guards patrolling the next corridor. Security had tightened since she and John had encountered the squad of troops earlier. She bowed her head and closed her eyes to plan her course of action. But then...nothing happened. She twitched and tried again, to no success.

Her thoughts continued to spiral out of control. She could not focus on anything else. The more she tried, the more they persisted and the stronger they became. They began to smother her and she began to become lost. She tried to fight but nothing worked. It was getting worse, she was becoming trapped in her fears and doubts.

The only thing that made her aware once more was the sounding alarm throughout the hall. As she became focused on what was happening around her, she looked up and noticed the camera that was watching her. Before she could react, the butt of a rifle dug into the back of her head. Her thoughts grabbed hold once more as she fell into darkness.

"Sunny," a gruff voice called out to her.

The voice was hard but...comforting, a voice she knew...a voice she missed. "Snake?"

"Get up, kid." the voice said.

Sunny opened her eyes to see a bright white room. Everything was a shining white, she could not tell where the walls met the floor. There, in front of her, was Solid Snake.

"Snake!" she yelled with tears in her eyes. She immediately ran and threw her arms around him.

"Take it easy kid," he said calmly. The same old Snake.

"Where are we?" she asked, "Am I dead?"

"No, I'm still the only one." he grinned then paused, as if deep in thought himself, "You are unconscious, being taken prisoner by the enemy. I'm just in your head."

Sunny smiled, "You were always in my head."

Snake merely nodded then looked down for a moment. "You're soft kid," he said finally as he looked up again, "You're no killer."

Sunny gasped at the suddenness and frankness of his statement. She opened her mouth to defend herself, but realized she had nothing to say in her defense.

"I told you that you had no business doing this stuff. You're not me, kid. You're no killer."

"I...I know. I know that now."

"Huh...no stutter. At least you improved that."

Sunny smiled, "You are an ass."

Snake returned her smile with one of his own, "And yet you still miss me. Guess that counts for something."

"How do you do it, Snake? How do you kill?"

"It's in my genes. Literally. I was made to be a killer. Had no choice, no options. It seemed to be the reason for my entire exsistance."

Sunny nodded. "Made. From the genes of Big Boss..."

Snake turned from her and began to walk around the room. "Yeah," he gruffed as he paced, "He was the best killer around. The Legendary Soldier."

"I cant kill her." Sunny said matter-of-factly.

"Olga.." Snake sighed as he watched the pain in her face, "She loved you, ya know."

A tear streamed from her eye, "Yeah Snake. I know."

"Then don't." he said suddenly.

Sunny stared at him, perplexed. "What?"

"Don't kill her. Save her."

"Do you really think I can?"

Snake paused for a moment, seemingly uncertain, "No. But it is better to try than to not."

"Then what should I do?"

"Don't ask me. I killed my own brother. Twice."

Sunny glared at him, "You're not much help.."

Snake grinned, "Never was."

"So why are you here? In my head?"

"To help you cope with the lives you do take." Snake stared at her intently, "Sunny you're a good soldier. A damn good fighter. But killing someone is beyond that. To take a life and everything it could have been."

He paused for a moment, the continued, "But unfortunately you will find that killing, taking those lives, gets easier each time you do it. You have to decide to kill them or let them kill you. If you're gonna be a soldier, you have to kill. Death is the life of the battlefield. That's why I never wanted this for you."

She nodded slowly. "So the trick is not to be a killer, but a survivor."

"That's perhaps a good way to see it."

"And you?"

"Me?"

"You're a survivor. Not a killer?"

"No Sunny I was a killer. I loved the fight too much."

"Snake..."

"No need to pity me, kid. I was always a soldier. I loved it. Every second. I never wanted to admit that to myself, but I did. You are no killer though. So don't kill. Survive."

A new tear streamed down her cheek. Not for her mother, but for the man who had raised her as his own. She started to speak, but was cut off by the massive splash of water to her face. Suddenly she was awake, with three of the guards around her. Two had their rifles pointed and the third has his knife drawn.

"Oh, the commander is going to love this," the soldier said, "we captured one of the intruders alive."

He leaned forward with the knife pressed against her throat, "Are you scared, little girl?"

As Sunny began to regain her barring, she grinned. "Very scared...of the big bad man that has to tie up a little girl to threaten her."

The man flinched and glared, "Well you're the little bitch now aren't you?"

"Untie me and see."

The soldier stepped back and stared at her. Seemingly out of nowhere, his hand smacked across her face, the thud sounding throughout the room.

Sunny leaned over to spit out a trickle of blood and stared at the man, "Yes I'll have no problem killing you..."

Before the man could react, Sunny used her legs to launch herself and the chair into a back flip motion. As she flipped she grabbed the knife from him and managed to cut her hands feet free. As she got free, she launched the chair forward, crashing into all three guards. She landed and a squat and charged into battle.

The first guard immediately threw a punch, but it was quickly and easily deflected by the operative. The second guard began to stand, only to be stomped back down. As the first guard began to recover, Sunny lunged the knife into his throat.

She kicked the third guard into the wall with a loud thud. The second lunged at her once more, but she caught him and turned his momentum into a takedown. One guard lay dead, the other two unconscious.

"Wow," a voice called out behind her, "that was impressive."

Suddenly realizing she was not alone in the room she turned, "Who are you?"

The man smiled as he stood, "I'm the reason you're here. My name's Victor Ward."


	13. Chapter 12 The World Ablaze

_**Chapter 12**_

The World Ablaze

"So, what's going on around here," Sunny asked matter-of-factly, "I mean...what's really going on here."

Victor Ward pursed his lips, "This organization calls itself FOX, a personal insult to the Patriots, as they began as the Fox unit. They are going to war with the three super powers, and they wish to become the new dominant force that the Patriots were."

"The Patriots...So that is it."

"Their leader, Olga Gurlukovich, hated the Patriots. They took everything from her...including her daughter."

Sunny cringed as he spoke, "Yes, I know. I heard about that."

Ward shook his head, "Oh you did...such a tragedy."

"What can you tell me about FOX?" she said abruptly, trying to change the subject.

"Oh, right. Well Olga has collected quite the circle of friends. They are all honed for battle, soldiers made by circumstance. That's usually the deadliest kind." he paused for a moment, the continued, "The sniper Dead-Aim was once Carter Staul, a US Marine that fought in the Iraqi war. Unfortunately, he was wounded and went MIA. His mission being classified and harmful to the US, they abandoned him and left him for dead. He wondered through the desert for months, surviving on the wildlife and wilderness around him...and then, he became it. His military training merged with his primal instincts and as months became years, Carter Staul became Dead-Aim. He finally decided to leave the deserts and enlisted with an extremist terrorist cell. He was ruthless and deadly, never leaving room for failure. Once he tasted his target, they were his prey. That is, until he killed them. His hatred for the nation that abandoned him for politics eventually led him to Gurlukovich."

Sunny gasped, "I killed him..."

Victor Ward shook his head and fixed his glasses, "Carter Stahl died long ago. You killed the animal he became, the monster he spawned."

"I...I guess so."

"And then there's Hunter, her personal bodyguard."

"Gray Fox..." Sunny flinched as she thought about the man who wanted her death so.

"Oh you have met him, I see. Well, it would be rather inaccurate to say he is Gray Fox. He more of his son I suppose, as Solid and Liquid were the sons of Big Boss."

"Solid Snake? And Big Boss? How do you know of them?"

"Oh I know many things." he said with remorse. "You have to if you worked on this project."

"I suppose."

"In any case, when Gray Fox was taken from Sanzibar Land by the Patriots in 1999, they took his genetic code and DNA for safe keeping during the exoskeleton experiments. Then in 2001, when Solid Snake thwarted the Shadow Moses insurrection, he became a legend. A legend the Patriots feared. Then they decided to create a new Solid Snake, one they could better control. Big Boss's genes proved to be too hard to control, so this time they used Gray Fox. Then in 2008, they created a Solid Snake Simulation in order to train their new Solid Snake. Of course they needed a test run before they implemented the new clone, which was still a boy at the time. They recreated Shadow Moses to see if they could turn a new recruit into the legendary Solid Snake."

"Raiden..."

"Yes, that was his codename. You seem well informed as well."

"He is my friend."

Victor Ward looked on at her with deep interest. "Hmmm...small world."

"Indeed."

"Unfortunately for them, Gray Fox was just as stubborn. His hatred and respect for Solid Snake haunted him down to the genetic core. In effect this new clone had all of his demons. The cloning was too exact. So in essence, he became Gray Fox himself in a mental capacity. After the Patriots fell, Olga offered him a chance to fight Solid Snake once more. And so here he is. He fights with her, for the chance to kill you, the successor."

"I see...he seems more focused on fighting me than the entire mission."

"Yes, it would seem so. It may be that drive that inadvertently helps you survive tonight."

Sunny nodded, "And the others?"

"Well then there's Damsel. She was once Maria Valdez, a college girl on her way to work for the government as an information analyst. The day of her graduation, the man she was to marry was killed as a result of the civil wars in Africa. He was there to provide relief for refugees and killed in a raid. I don't think she ever really got over him, but then she met the one guy she would never go without. Oh, she truly loved him. But tragedy would strike once again. This time, it was truly the ultimate betrayal. She learned that her new husband, the love of her life, was a serial killer. He would kidnap young girls, rape them, torture them, then kill them. It was too much to bear for the poor girl. Once he learned that she knew his secret. He let loose his rituals on her. But she was stronger than the others. When he thought her dead, he left her bleeding in the basement to get his corpse disposal kit. She pushed herself up, grabbed one of his blades, and he became her firts victim. She then went underground and became an assassin for the Russian Mafia. Little is known about her after that point, except that she has been waiting for Death, her lover, to finally come take her away. She feels that Death is an entity that is in love with her, and so he will not let her find true happiness until she is his."

Sunny merely stared, "Wow...these poor people here."

"They are not people. Not anymore. Circumstance has changed them all. They now all only seek one goal, to destroy the world that destroyed them. Even Olga Gurlukovich herself seeks only to set the world ablaze that took her only child away from her."

"What about the last one? There was one more."

"Oh, Octopus Rayne. Don't know much about her. No one does. Except she was the counterpart of Decoy Octopus before he joined the Shadow Moses revolt."

"Shadow Moses? That was thirty years ago."

"Don't ask me. It's only what I've heard. I haven't met her. She is a master shape shifter and could be anyone anywhere any time. I would watch who you trust tonight. The first thing she would do would be to try and get close to you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, your friend. The Marine SEAL?"

"Wait, John?"

"Just be careful here. Watch your back."

"Right...thank you. So what are they going to do here. What is Metal Gear Moses?"

Victor look down grimly, "Moses is a weapon unlike anything ever seen in this world."

"Is it nuclear capable? Like the original Metal Gears?"

"Well, yes. But that's only a standard feature, meant solely for deterrence capabilities. That is not what sets Moses apart from previous Metal Gears?"

"Then what? What could it be?"

"Nuclear warfare is a thing of the past. A relic from a time when man was stupid and greedy enough to blow up an entire land just to win a war. We are in a new era. An era where true generals know it is better to simply wipe out the life in an area, then occupy it and its riches. It _is _nuclear capable, but its most prominent threat is biological warfare.

"Biological?"

Victor Ward nodded, "In 2001 Dr. Naomi Hunter created a virus that targets specific genetic codes. This virus -"

Sunny immediately cut him off, "FOXDIE!"

"Yes. The same. She infected Solid Snake so that he would infect the terrorists within Shadow Moses. It worked, really really well. Everyone died, except for Solid Snake. Then, in 2014, the virus began to mutate, so that it would not discriminate a particualr genetic makeup. It would kill anyone. Solid Snake had become a walking, breathing biological weapon. Dr. Hunter had thought the virus would die with Solid Snake...but it didn't."

"No!" Sunny yelled with a grotesque look of terror, "Snake's body! They..."

"Yes," Victor nodded solemnly, "the new weapon incorporated into Moses is FOXDIE, extracted from the corpse of Solid Snake and modified to work on a pandemic scale. Anyone who opposes them, they will bomb them with the virus. Starting with the super powers."

"Oh my god...Snake."

"I created Moses. My own little way of getting back at the world. But..I had no idea about the virus. Once I learned what they had planned to do, I left. I found an old friend of mine, Hal Emmerich. And gave him the information on the warehouse where Moses was built. He sent you there and it led you here. After speaking with Dr. Emmerich, I was captured, and brought here. I've been waiting for you. Perhaps you can help me atone for my sins."

"Wait, why did you want revenge on the world?"

Victor Ward smiled and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "That's a story for another time. They are coming for you now. When you were captured, the guards called for FOX. You have to leave before they get here."

"Fine," Sunny nodded, "Let us go."

"Oh I cannot go. There is no escape for me."

"I have to get you out of here, that is my mission."

"No, Sunny this is your mission. Save your mother from her hatred for the Patriots. Stop Moses and maybe I will live."

"Wait, how did you know my-"

"I told you, I had to know everything about the research. Now go. You must stop Moses!"

"But how?"

"Deeper into the complex, there is a room with the central database for the latest testing and schematics data of Moses. If you are to find a weakness. It would surely be there."

"But, will it not be under heavy guard?"

"No, not this room. It is data only. Nothing valuable."

Sunny nodded, "Okay, I am going. When this is over, I will come back for you."

"Let us hope that you do, Miss Gurlukovich."

Sunny exited the room and made her way into the hallway. He was right, she had to find a way to stop Moses. And her mother. But how? She had only defeated one of the generals of FOX and she was mentally and physically exhausted.

"How did you do this all the time Snake," she said to herself as she readied her hand gun. After finding a small corridor, she knelt and flipped the switch at her ear.

"Otacon, do you read?"

After a brief moment, an excited and tear filled voice responded, "Maiden! Where have you been? I've been so worried!"

Sunny smiled and shook her head, "I am fine. We have much to discuss."


	14. Chapter 13 Game Over Continue?

_**Chapter 13**_

Game Over. Continue?

"God help us..." Otacon's voice rang through the transceiver.

Sunny nodded, "Yeah, Victor gave me the location of a central database that has all of the Moses test data stored on it. We should be able to analyze that to find some sort of weak point we could use to bring it down."

"Good work, Maiden." Otacon said with a smile, "I think Snake would be proud."

Sunny paused, then after a bit finally muttered, "I had a strange dream..."

"A dream?"

"Yeah, while I was knocked out by the guards I had a dream. I was in a white room...and Snake was there."

"Interesting,"

"He was not old. He was young. But I only knew Snake when he was old. I do not know why he appeared young. He said he was here to help me cope with the mission. It just felt...so real. Like he was trying to communicate with me."

"That is...interesting, Maiden. I agree it seems strange. Perhaps it is due to the immense stress you have been under tonight, combined with your determination to make Snake. proud of you."

"Yes...I suppose that could be it."

"If you want I could look up some stuff on the net. Maybe see if there is anything I can find out."

Sunny smiled, "Affirmative. The computer should be on the other side of the Right-Leg."

"Okay good. Let me know if you need anything else. For now, get that data!"

Sunny switched off the transceiver and stood. She pulled up the map of the facility and marked her route to the room with the data. She slowly began to make her way down the corridor, more cautious than ever.

She drew her handgun, loaded with electric pulse rounds, and held it firmly in front of her as she slowly walked. As she approached the corner, she placed her back against the wall and peered around the corner.

She shuddered as she saw the group of men patrolling the room ahead. It was not the room she was looking for, but it was most definitely on the way. She squatted to the floor and began to think. There were at least eight of them, too many for a single person to take on. She needed a plan; a good one.

But then, just as she began to think, she heard the radio of one of the guards kick on. "Warhead patrol team. Warhead patrol team, respond!"

The guard quickly clicked the radio speaker, "Patrol here. What's the situation?"

"We have an escaped intruder. Attacked her security detail, one dead two wounded. What's your status?"

"All good here. No one in sight."

"Patrol the area. The intruder must be within range."

"Affirmative. Commencing patrol."

The guards readied their weapons and began their route, right towards her. Sunny swallowed hard; she had to think fast. She began to panic as the men approached. She knew she needed to stay calm, but the young operative was running out of options. As they began to come closer she swallowed and grinned. She could only think of one way out of this.

It was a long shot and if she was not agile enough, she would surely be caught. Something told her that if she were caught this time it would be game over. Since she had not saved her progress in quite a long time, she knew it would be a hassle to return there.

_This is no game, Sunny!_ she whispered to herself with a smile, _It is all or nothing._

As the guards began to close in, she ran up the wall and stretched her legs and arms across to hold herself above the hall. As the guards passed beneath her, she began to turn and turn, making her way down the hall as she twisted her body, being careful not to make a sound.

The guards passed under her, oblivious to her carefully orchestrated movements. Once they had been separated by enough distance, she quietly dropped to the floor and cracked open the door to peak through. It looked empty, but it was a dark, massive room. Anyone could be waiting.

Unfortunately, Sunny did not have the time to focus on that possibility. The guards would be back soon. If she could slip past them, they would not report her movements here and she could be invisible again...at least for the tome being. She quickly slipped through the door and closed it. She pulled out her facemask and slid it over her head, tapping a small knot on the side of the right eye.

The dark room instantly became visible in a bright green glow. As she scanned the room, she noticed a large frame in the center of the room. As she neared, she noticed the branding on the frame.

"NAA...Defense Corps..." she muttered in a startling realization. It was the stolen warhead the Marine SEALs were after. And it was gone from the frame. "They've loaded it. Could Moses be...operational? Already?"

Sunny quickly kneeled and tapped the switch at her ear, "Maiden here. Respond."

"Otacon responding. What's going on."

"I found the stolen warhead."

"What?"

"Affirmative. The warhead that the NAA Marine SEALs came here for. I have located it."

"Well, at least it's safe. That's one less thing we have to worry about at the moment."

"Um...Not exactly."

"What do you mean, Maiden?"

"The nuke is not here. It is just the frame inside the crate."

"Dear God!"

"Yes...it appears they are loading it, or have already loaded it. We are running out of time, Otacon."

"Maiden! You have to hurry and get that data! It will show us if it is loaded are not."

"Right. I'm going now!"

Sunny cut communications and hurried across the massive room. As she came into the hallway, she noticed a camera watching overhead. She slowly inched her way against the wall and shuffled down the room, careful to stay out of sight. She looked down at the display on her wrist and grinned. "Almost there."

Sunny opened the door to see one final corridor between her and the room that housed the test data she needed. She stepped through, almost without thinking; a move that proved to be a mistake.

As she made her way into the room, the tiles on the floor and ceiling began to glow white. She hurried to the keypad to the next room and connected it to the device on her wrist.

A virtual keypad appeared on the screen and she began typing away, converting the numbers into 1's and 0's until the correct sequence appeared. She breathed a sigh of relief as the door clicked and swung open after a few seconds.

Suddenly, both doors locked and the ceiling tiles began to glow red. Sunny looked around the room, trying to gather her thoughts as the temperature began to rise.

_Oh no! _She thought to herself as she tried to reopen the door, _It's a heat trap!_

She tried desperately to re-enter the sequence, but the door was not responding this time. She quickly made her way to the opposite side, but there was no luck to be had there either.

With the heat rising and her time running out, she drew her handgun and began to fire at the handle. No luck; the bullets could not pierce the metal and merely bounced around the room.

This was it, she knew it. Her breathing became harder, the room began to spin, her eyes became heavy. The only reason she was still alive now was because of her sneaking suit's thermal protection, but she knew it would not last long.

The temperature was rising seemingly without any barriers, and it was continually getting harder to breath. With the last of her energy, she tapped the device on her ear.

"Snake...Uncle Hal...I am sorry..."

Sunny fell to her knees, her consciousness beginning to fade. As darkness began to swirl around her, she could hear the familiar voice on the other line.

"Maiden! What's going on?" Otacon screamed in terror, "Maiden! Answer me! Please, Maaaaiiidddenn!"

As her breathing began to cease, she fell to floor. The last thing she remembered hearing was the sound of the doors finally opening.


	15. Chapter 14 Doubts

_**Chapter 14**_

Doubts

Sunny's vision blurred in and out as he dragged her from the heat trapped room and into the central database room. She was not unconscious, but with her body temperature finally stabilizing, she was struggling to make sense of her surroundings. He closed the door and locked it firmly.

"John..." she muttered as he helped her to her feet. The Marine SEAL helped the young woman into a chair as she began to regain her strength. She was breathing heavily and sweat poured down her face. As she sat down and collected her thoughts, she immediately began to drink the water from her flask.

"You okay, Sunny?" he asked her with a great look of concern.

The girl nodded, "I will be. Thanks you, John. You saved my life."

"Not a problem. Saving lives is what I do." The soldier smiled and grabbed her shoulder.

Caught off guard and not sure what to do, Sunny looked down as she blushed, "You have a strong grip."

"Marine SEAL standard protocol." he said as he stared down at her.

"I bet." she replied as she stared into his eyes.

He leaned toward her and kissed her softly on the lips. The sudden warmth from his lips made her forget completely about the heat from the trap. She kissed him back, eager to find more of that warmth within his lips.

He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and kissed her more intently. She sighed and relaxed every muscle in her body as he held her face to his. It felt so good to forget about the mission, and just be here...with him...

She suddenly stopped herself, and turned away, "The mission..." she said regretfully.

"Oh. Right." he agreed quickly.

The operative connected a small drive to the computer and began typing away on the keyboard. John watched as numbers filled the screen. As she typed, the numbers began to become a password. The soldier looked on admiration. "Sunny, you are amazing."

The girl blushed again, "Amazing is not a strong enough word."

The password hack completed and the data began to download. Sunny stood, "This may be a while.." she said as she made her way to the center of the room. John turned to see her unzip the top of her suit and pull it down, a solid white brazier underneath.

"Um...Sunny I-I-"

Sunny merely smiled, "I need to cool off, get my body temperature back down again."

John stood still, his grin getting bigger.

"Stop staring, you pig!" Sunny yelled playfully.

"R-right," he said as he turned back to the computer screen.

"So what happened to you?" she said as he watched the screen.

"The commando. He guided me away from the sniper. Told me he was here to help you."

"Help me? Really?"

"Yeah. He said he wanted to guide you, until you were strong enough. Whatever that means..."

"He wants to fight me. To the death. He told me he would not stop until one of us were victorious."

"I won't let him kill you, you know that."

Seemingly out of nowhere, her arms wrapped around him. She leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "I know, John, I know..."

John instantly turned and caught her lips in a long passionate kiss. "I came looking for you, as soon as he brought me to this facility. He left to report back to your mother. I had to know you were safe. So I came..."

"Just kiss me." she replied with a tender smile. The two kissed each other wildly as they moved throughout the room. John ran his hand up her thigh and pulled her up as she wrapped her legs around him. She sighed slightly as he began to kiss up her neck and take her ear in his mouth.

The two began to kiss more wildly as she pulled his shirt off. The young woman gently caressed up and down his chest as he kissed her. He carefully laid her on the floor and began to kiss her more. The progress bar slowly continued to fill on the computer screen as Sunny pulled him closer.

Sunny awoke once more in the white room. This time, however, she was alone. She slowly made her way through the room, scanning her surroundings. It seemed endless: no walls, no rooms, no doors.

"Snake..?" she said quietly, beginning to get a bit scared.

"I'm here, kid." the gruff voice called out in response.

Sunny turned to see her former mentor standing behind her. "Snake!"

"Strange circumstances for us to meet again. I see you've grown up." Snake said with a smirk.

Sunny grabbed at her hair, trying to straighten the mess. "S-snake!" she yelled as she blushed.

"And your stutter's back. Good job."

Sunny smiled and cleared her throat, "Why am I here?"

Snake shrugged, "I wouldn't know. Was hoping you could tell me."

Sunny's smile faded and she looked to the ground, "They are going to turn you into a weapon."

"Yeah, I heard." Snake began to walk around the room, "A lifetime of fighting against Metal Gear and they are turning me into its newest weapon. Seems like a waste"

Sunny looked up and met his gaze, "It's not right..."

"But it's happening," Snake said solemnly, "If you want to be like me, if you want to impress me, prove to me that you can live up to my legend...then stop them." Snake said. For the first time that she could ever remember, she saw fear in his eyes, "Sunny, don't let them turn me into a weapon..."

Sunny shook her head, "But what if I am not like you! What if I die?" She bowed her head, as if trying to hide from her own fears, "Snake, what if I cannot save you?!"

"You have it kid."

"...have what?"

"Spirit. The stuff that matters. I hate to admit this, but you were right. You can do this."

"But I keep messing up."

"So did I. You're a rookie, kid, you'll get better. You finally learned how to cook some damn eggs."

Sunny smiled a bit as he snickered, "You are an ass."

Snake nodded, "That's the real legend, I'm afraid."

Sunny took a few steps toward him, "You know, I always wanted to be like you, Snake. You were so strong, so certain."

Snake chuckled, "Strong maybe. I spent my whole life in uncertainty. I never knew who I was, what I was. Never knew what I had or even wanted. You and the anime geek were the only certainty I ever had."

Sunny's smile widened, "Uncle Hal misses you, you know?"

"Otacon misses everything. Did he cry when I died?"

Sunny glared, "Snake, that's rude."

Snake sneered as he look away, "Oh God. He cried..."

Sunny bowed her head, "I miss you too, Snake."

"Nothing to miss, kid. I was a mistake, created by men mad with power. Now the mistake is corrected, and the world's better off for it. But it's up to you to finish it. Rid this world of my legacy."

"I know, Snake. You are right, I can do this."

Snake nodded, "You can."

She paused for a moment, as if deep in thought, "Snake?"

"Yeah, Sunny. What is it?

"How come I can see you? Like this?"

"Beats me. Think, Sunny. You know I'm not real. I'm dead. What you see here is just your memories of me."

"No. It has to be something more. I don't ever remember you looking so young."

"Ah now, that hurts."

"You know what I mean..."

"Maybe I'm just here to save you."

"From what?"

"From me."

"What does that mean?"

"You'll understand, kid. You're a smart girl."

"Snake..."

"One more thing,"

"Yes?"

"Your friend, John. Make sure he's really Raiden's kid. Remember what the doc told ya. That all of the SEALs died."

Sunny suddenly gasped. She had completely forgotten about that. Could he be...the enemy. She blushed with shame at the thought. What had she done? Could she have just slept with...Octopus Rayne?

And then it hit her like a ton of bricks: was the rescue from the heat room just a set up, to gain her trust. Snake nodded as she looked up at him, acknowledging her question.

"I gotta go, kid. It's time for you to wake up."

"No!" Sunny shouted as she reached out her hand. As she touched him, Snake became a mist of particles that spread through the air. Before she knew it, she was awake again.

She sat up quickly, trying to catch her breath. She looked over to see John sleeping next to her. Many thoughts swirled through her head at once, most of them very unpleasant. As she stood, she glanced at the computer screen. The download had finished.

"Well," she whispered to herself, "at least something went to plan."


	16. Chapter 15 Charmed

_**Chapter 15**_

Charmed

John awoke to see Sunny fully geared, typing at the computer. He sat up and yawned as he ran his fingers through his silver hair. He stared at her and smiled, remembering her curves, her touch. Pulling his shirt down, he walked over and laid his hand on her shoulder. The girl shivered suddenly, and pulled her shoulder away.

"We have a lot of work to do," Sunny said boldly as she continued to type.

"Oh, right," he replied, "Sorry about that."

Sunny continued her research, seemingly oblivious to his response. He looked on at the computer, watching as the schematics and test data appeared on the screen. Sunny appeared very focused on the task, basically ignoring anything else around her, especially him.

"Are you okay?" he finally asked.

"Fine." she shot back matter-of-factly.

She connected a cable from the display on her wrist to the computer and began to download the schematics. While they downloaded she tapped the transceiver on her wrist, "Maiden reporting in; Otacon do you read."

After a moment of silence, the response came in, "Otacon responding."

"I have the schematics, I am sending them to you now."

"Affirmative. Wow, these are surprisingly detailed. This is a very complex, advanced Metal Gear. However, it does not look as if they have begun simulating the nuke."

"Well that's good news. What about the virus?"

"Let's see..." he said as he began to skim through the records. Suddenly, the line went completely silent.

"Otacon," she said after a moment, "Otacon?"

"I-I'm here."

"What's wrong?"

"They've begun testing the virus. Their test subject is noted in here as Subject Gurlukovich."

Sunny shuddered, "Mother? She's testing it on herself?"

"It appears to be so. I'm sorry Sunny."

"Is she going to die?"

"I'm just not sure, Sunny. She's still okay for now so that's a good thing."

"I suppose so...Any way to destroy this thing yet?"

"That might take some time. I will have to cross reference a lot of things. At least we know it's not nuclear yet."

"Right. Keep me posted."

"Will do. Otacon out."

"Maiden out."

Sunny ended the transmission and stared blankly at the screen. "Sunny..." John whispered to her, "What's going on?"

Sunny gritted her teeth, "I need to be alone."

John stared at her, "Sunny, what's going on with you. You've been different since-"

"It was a mistake!" she interjected quickly, "It should not have happened! Now please, leave me alone!"

John stood in shock. Slowly, he backed away and finished putting his gear on. "Fine, be alone. I don't care anymore. We shouldn't have wasted all of this time anyway." He paused and stared away from her, "Good luck destroying that thing. I'm gonna find my nuke and I'm outta here. Nice seeing you again, _Maiden_." The Marine SEAL unlocked the door and exited the room, oblivious to the tears pouring from her eyes.

Sunny tried to focus on the mission, tried to block everything out; but it was just too much. So much had transpired tonight, and somehow she knew more was to come.

After the download finished, she disconnected the cable and readied herself to continue her mission. Snake, she thought to herself, I need you so bad. I still have so much to learn. And then it hit her.

John said that a man called Sypher had saved him from the attack on the Marine SEALs. She had not told him about Sypher before hand...and Sypher was not one of them. How could he had known about him, unless he really did save him. John could have been telling the truth.

She shook her head in agony with her thoughts. What if Sypher was just another one of their games? It could have been planned all alone, to get someone close to her. She had no idea what was going on. She knew she needed answers. She had to find a way to get them.

For now, though, she had to find John. He wanted to help her and she drove him away. Just on the chance that it really was John, she could not risk losing his trust tonight. He needed her and she needed him, if they were gonna make it out of this.

Making sure everything was secured to her, she wiped the tears from her eyes and made her way out of the room. She drew her gun and hurried trough the Hot Trap room to the other side. She came into the warehouse where the warhead had been stored. She stopped suddenly, realizing the lights were on. Her instincts focused, she slowly made her way into the room.

A kick came from behind some crates and knocked the gun from her hand. Before she could reach for it, a fist crashed into her side. She fell to her knees, only to be kicked on her back. In shock, she rolled over to see John looking down at her with empty eyes.

"John!" she yelled as she struggled to catch her breath, "What are you doing!"

John remained silent, empty, as he lifted her and threw her across the room. He followed as she landed and threw her against a stack of crates. Victor Ward had been right. He was not John, he was Octopus Rayne; he was the enemy. She suddenly found herself thinking back to what Sypher had told her: do not trust your emotions tonight.

"John, please..." she gasped as he continued toward her.

Suddenly, something happened. Everything that had occurred that night, everything that had been building up inside her, broke through all at once. She had to fight, or she would die tonight. There was no other option. She would have to fight, to kill, if she wanted to survive.

"Survive..." she said as she remembered what Snake had told her.

As John reached her, she shot up into a cartwheel, throwing her foot into his throat. He stumbled back, stunned and surprised. Before he could react, she landed in a handstand and kicked him across the face. He fell to his knees in time for her heel to come down on his head.

While he was down, she closed her eyes and twitched them back and forth while she formulated her attack. John began to stand, and Sunny launched toward him, landing with a series of punches to his face and chest. The soldier stumbled back with no expression.

_Something's wrong_, she thought to herself as he came toward her again.

She leaped up into kick, but he caught her foot and used her momentum to throw her back into the same stack of crates. She got to her feet but he tackled her back to the floor. He landed with his hands around her throat, and began to choke her. The operative gagged as his hands dug into her throat. Desperate for air, she threw her knee up into his crotch.

Surprisingly, he fell back without even a whimper, his face still emotionless, his eyes empty. Sunny did not take time to think, she launched forwards and brought him to his back with her foot on his throat and begin to choke him in turn.

She watched as his face turned pale and his eyes began to roll back in his head. Still no emotion, empty eyes. He was just...dying.

Bewildered, she caught a small amount of movement out of the corner of her eye. She looked over to see a young, slender woman clad in a skin-tight silver combat suit. Her long black hair flowed as she tilted her head toward John. Sunny took her boot from his throat and turned to the woman.

"How fun is it to have your lover turn against you?" she asked with a sensual smile.

"Who...are you?" Sunny asked.

"I am Death's lover. And I will lead you to him tonight."

Suddenly, Sunny remembered what the doctor had told her about FOX's assassin. "Damsel..." she muttered as she stared at the woman.

John stood, eyes still void. "Kill her." Damsel whispered, "Become her Death, her lover." John finally smiled as he drew his combat knife.

Sunny took a deep breath and drew her own knife . She braced herself as he came toward her again.


	17. Chapter 16 Death's Embrace

_**Chapter 16**_

Death's Embrace

Damsel watched in amusement as her new pet lunged at her victim. Sunny sidestepped as the knife came at her and gave a stab of her own. John dodged and threw his arm into her ribs. Sunny stumbled back, holding her side and breathing heavily.

"Oh this is excellent," Damsel shrieked with glee, "Feel Death coming to join us!"

Sunny rushed toward John with her blade drawn, as she lunged, he caught her arm and threw her on her back. She quickly spun back to her feet and locked eyes with him. Though he smiled sadistically, his eyes were still empty. Something was wrong, she knew. Even if it were Octopus Rayne, there would be something in the eyes, some form of expression...this was different.

The two readied for another clash. John charged this time, and Sunny was ready. The squatted and spun her leg around to knock him off balance. He stumbled forward and she quickly followed up with a knee to his back.

The soldier dropped to his knees and she put the knife to his throat. But then, she could not do it. She could not kill him. What if it were John. She would not be able to live with that fact. That she had killed the only boy who was ever really nice to her. That she had killed the son of the man who rescued her.

That moment of hesitation gave the Marine SEAL too big of an opening. He quickly grabbed her arm and flung her over his shoulder. She landed with a thud and a whimper. John now stood over her with his smile big and his knife ready. He raised his knife to stab her, but another arm came from the corner of her eye and slammed him to the ground.

"Hunter!" she yelled as she looked over to see the commando standing over her attacker.

"You!" Damsel screamed, "The commander will hear of this!"

Hunter shrugged, "Commander's orders. She wants you to kill the girl yourself. No hypnosis tricks."

John began to stand, and Hunter turned and threw his elbow into his head. He caught the soldier as he fell unconscious. Damsel glared, "I was having so much fun. He was going to kill her..."

Hunter grinned, "Well now you get the honor yourself."

Sunny looked up at him questioningly. He stared down with a chuckle, "I hope you survive. I want to be the one to kill you."

Her questioned look turned to one of utter perplexity, "So that really is John?"

Hunter nodded, "Of course, who else would he be. The witch charmed him with her hypnosis, that's all. When he wakes up he will be fine."

Sunny stood and nodded, resolute and ready. "I will fight you again. And I will kill you."

"We shall see," he mused, "You are stronger than when we first met. Perhaps you will be ready when we meet again." He looked over at Damsel, "Good luck."

Damsel glared harder and tightened her fist. Hunter ignored her and picked John up over his shoulder, "A gift for the commander. If you win, Sunny, you may see him again."

Sunny stared at him and nodded. She knew she could not stop him. Even if she managed to be on equal ground with him, Damsel would surely add to the equation. She had to take it one step at a time, "I will get him back."

"See that you do," he said as he exited the room.

Sunny looked at Damsel, who was staring back with infatuation. "You are very beautiful," the assassin said with a seductive smile, "If my lover didn't want you I would take you."

Sunny gasped "What..?"

Her smile suddenly turned vicious, "He's here!" she screamed as she charged toward Sunny.

Sunny was completely caught off guard and was tackled to the ground by her adversary. She tried desperately to dodge the incoming blows, but most of them hit her with force and purpose. She fought to gather her strength and used her legs to throw Damsel off of her. Damsel landed in a roll and was quickly back on her feet and charging once more. Sunny stood on her hands and began spinning her feet. She landed a kick in the assassin's midsection.

Damsel stumbled back and Sunny regained her balance. Within seconds the two were charging back at one another, trading punches, kicks, and other blows. Sunny was shocked at how agile the woman was. It seemed they were almost evenly matched. Sunny followed up by driving her knee into her enemy's sternum. Damsel knelt down as she grabbed her midsection in pain.

Sunny followed up with a bicycle kick to the face. As the woman stammered backwards, Sunny threw in another two punches to the face.

The operative slammed her elbow down into the assassin's head and dropped her to the floor. She looked down to see Damsel lying flat on her back with her eyes wide open, Staring blankly at the ceiling. For good measure, Sunny gave one last stomp to her stomach.

With the new chance, she picked up her handgun and made sure it was ready to fire. Content with her victory, she turned to leave the room and try to find John and the Metal Gear. As she began to walk away, she heard Damsel begin to laugh.

The eerie chuckle rang throughout the room, echoing the thrill within. Sunny turned to see Damsel laughing, still staring at the ceiling. She stood still, watching for any sudden movements, but the woman lie still, laughing and staring.

"You're good," she finally said, breaking the silence, "much better than I gave you credit for." Damsel got to her feet and looked over at her opponent.

Sunny glared, "Why are you doing all of this?"

Damsel merely laughed some more, "This world betrayed me too many times. So much death...I was a good girl, you know?" She stopped and pursed her lips, "I did everything I was supposed to do. I went to school, to college, I was always faithful to my husbands. They all took advantage of me, everyone did. And in the end, they all left me."

Sunny watched as tears streamed down her eyes. Yet, the laughter continued. Perplexed, she watched on as the woman continued, "Except for Death. He has always been there. He took my parents, my sister, my husbands. He is such a jealous lover. Oh he loves me so. He loves me so! And soon he will come for me. But he wants you first. Just like every other lover I've ever had. He wants someone else first. I'm always last...always..."

She went silent for a moment, as the tears grew. Sunny felt bad for her. This used to be a happy woman with everything going for her. And now she was...well it seemed she died a long time ago. Her soul was just waiting for her body to catch up. Suddenly, she began to laugh again, this time louder than before.

"This world will burn! Me and my lover will claim them all! And you, you get to watch it all happen!" She braced and drew her twin daggers, "So let's do this for real now, shall we?"

Sunny drew her knife and prepared herself as the assassin charged at her. She leapt forward with both daggers ready to strike, but Sunny blocked the attack with her forearms. The two immediately entered a battle of strength against one another, battling for leverage and balance. Damsel finally won, seemingly summoning supernatural strength.

As she pushed forward, Sunny leapt back and landed in a kneeling position. Damsel charged at her again, but was caught off guard when Sunny launched up into a head butt. The blow connected with her midsection and sent her flying back herself. She turned the momentum into a back flip and landed on her feet.

The two warriors of agility stood firm, staring each other down, spirit and determination in both their eyes. Both took a deep breath and began another charge. They met in the middle with blades flying in all directions.

Sunny ducked and parried as she threw in slashes of her own. Damsel struck back with more and more blows. Her extra weapon provided her with superior offense, but Sunny was more mobile, only concentrating on handling a single knife. Damsel finally went for a straight horizontal slash, which Sunny ducked gracefully and countered. She came up with an uppercut, knife in hand and slashed Damsel across the face.

The woman cried out in agony, as she felt the gash. Sunny continued with a punch to her gut, but this time it was Damsel who side stepped into a spin kick and landed her leg across Sunny's face. Sunny twirled and landed on her feet.

Almost as soon as she landed they charged at one another once again. As they met, Damsel went into a flurry of slashes, pushing Sunny's flexibility to the limit. She seemed more fierce, more determined.

Sunny began to step back, trying to stay out of the path of her fury. Damsel pushed her back further and further across the room. Sunny was on pure defense now, trying to avoid the onslaught. Damsel did not let up, even for a second; she was going in for the kill now, no more games.

As Sunny neared the wall, she became concerned that she would be cornered in. But, like with all creatures, as she began to feel cornered, she took one last desperate act. As Damsel slashed downward she side stepped and kicked her in the chest. As her adversary stumbled back, Sunny ran up the wall and launched herself off. She spun herself sideways and came down with a powerful kick to the head.

Damsel became dazed as Sunny launched herself off of her head and into a back flip. The agile prodigy came down once more with knee to Damsel's face. She followed up with a series of punches, drawing even more blood. She spun to throw in a final kick and completed the kick with a stab of her knife straight into Damsel's chest.

The woman stumbled back with a smile. Sunny looked on in curiosity at her reaction. Damsel stared blankly at Sunny, still smiling, "You're stronger than me..."

"No," Sunny said sternly, "I was lucky, we were evenly matched."

Damsel dropped her daggers, "No I mean emotionally. You had everything taken from you, just like me."

"What-" Sunny gasped.

"Yes I know who you are, Sunny Gurlukovich. She talked about you all of the time. You are like me...yet you stayed true to who you are. You continued to live."

"She?" Sunny asked, "M-my mother?"

Damsel merely looked down at the knife in her chest, then looked back at Sunny with sorrow in her eyes, "My husband tried to kill me. He stabbed me over and over, but somehow I lived. He thought I was dead, and began preparing to dispose of me."

She pulled Sunny's knife from her chest, "I stabbed him over and over," she said as she made stabbing motions with the knife. "You know, there really is nothing quite like the look deep in someone's eyes when they know you hold their life in your hands." She seemed mesmerized as she watched the knife slash back and forth, "That moment, looking in their eyes...I truly felt Death's loving embrace. It was so...tender. Moving..."

She dropped to her knees, dropping Sunny's knife to the floor. Suddenly she began to laugh again, "It's funny you know? Now, at the end, I feel wanted for the very first time. Death...he...he wants me, not you."

A tear streamed down Sunny's cheek as the woman began to cough blood. "Thank you, for leading him to me. I have wanted him for so long. Finally...he...wants me.."

She fell back and stared up at the ceiling once more, a permanent seductive smile on her face. Sunny drew her handgun and walked forward, ready for any surprises. She looked down to see the woman's lifeless eyes. The young woman slowly leaned down to pick up her combat knife.

As she cleaned the blade and put it back into its sheath, she noticed Damsel's twin daggers lying on the floor. She squatted down and picked up the two blades. She had never considered dual blades before, but after seeing her opponent wield them with deadly precision, she thought she could adapt them perfectly into her style of Close-Quarters Combat. She added the weapons to her belt and looked down.

"I truly hope you find more happiness in death than you did in life," she said as she looked on. She took a deep breath and turned her head as she made her way out of the room. It was time to end this. She knew she could do it now. She would find John, and she would destroy Metal Gear Moses. She knew she could take a life. She would kill them all. And if she had to, she would kill Olga Gurlukovich.


	18. Chapter 17 A New Philosophy

_**Chapter 17**_

A New Philosophy

As Sunny exited the room where she faced off with Damsel, the communications device on her ear began to buzz. She quickly squatted behind a corner and tapped the button to receive her message. "Maiden responding."

"Sunny..." Otacon said with a strange tone, as if forcing the words out."

"Yes." she replied, "what's going on?"

After a few moments of silence, he finally responded, "You're not gonna believe this."

"Believe what?"

"Victor Ward's body was discovered in a village close to the site of the warehouse you infiltrated to get the information on Titan's Trench.

"What? Wait, I just spoke to him. How could they have killed him and taken him that far?"

Otacon cleared his throat, "That's the thing. The authorities have ruled it a suicide. But that's even the clincher."

"Then what-"

"His estimated time of death was five days ago."

"What? That was the day before he came to you with the information that led us to warehouse."

"Exactly, Maiden. Think about it."

Sunny shook her head in bewilderment, "Octopus Rayne."

"Yes. It has to be."

"That is why Victor Ward just happened to be in the room I was brought to when I was captured. He sent me to the heated room. It was her the whole time. Otacon! We have been-"

"Set up. I know. You didn't find your mother. She found you. And she is leading you to her."

Sunny bowed her head, "I know. Dead-Aim said something similar, that she sent him to test me. It's as if she got a group of people with nothing to live for to test my skills."

The line went silent for a moment, then Otacon finally said, "Maiden, you should abort mission immediately. We don't even know if this Metal Gear is real anymore."

"I am sorry," she said, "I cannot do that. John is here, and my mother...and Snake. My dreams...he wants me to save him."

"Sunny, they're dreams," he said "Snake is gone..."

"Yes," she nodded, "but John is not. Nor is my mother. I am sorry, I have to go on."

"Yeah," he said with tears in his voice, "I know you do. No way you're leaving."

"Okay I have to go. I have to stay on the move."

"I know, I understand. Just one thing."

"Yes?"

"Don't die. Please, don't die. I've lost so much in my life...I can't lose you too."

Sunny gasped as he pleaded, "...Affirmative." she said simply as tears filled her eyes, "Maiden out."

She cut communications and began making her way through the building. She took a side door after exiting the storage area, following the map on the display from her arm to the Left-Leg Wing so she could try and find an entrance to the Core. She was now racing against time. She had to find John, and she had to stop Olga before the new Metal Gear became field active. She cleared a few rooms, but continued onward more cautious than ever.

With her handgun and knife drawn, she carefully paced herself as she made her way down each and every hall. She slipped past a few guards, but there were not many on patrol in this area. Since the nuke was in the Right Leg, perhaps most of the forces were concentrated there.

She did not allow that to let her guard down though, as she could not afford any more trouble. Not now. After what seemed to be an eternity, she arrived at the entrance to the Left-Leg Wing. Calm and focused, she opened the door and slowly stepped on to the catwalk. It was quiet, and empty, which only made her more nervous that maybe she was walking into a trap.

Sunny walked forward and aimed her gun in all directions, her knife ready to strike at a moment's notice. She was ready for anything now, nothing could be worse than what she had already been through this night. She stopped herself with a grin, _stop thinking that Sunny. You will make things get worse_.

She cleared the catwalk and entered the Left Leg. The first corridor was completely empty, devoid of anyone or anything. She slowly opened the next door to peek through the crack. "This room is barren as well," she said to herself as she opened the door.

It seemed that the Left-Leg Wing had not been set up yet. There was no guard, no weapons. Every room was empty. But then, when she truly began to think she was alone, she walked into the room. As she slowly entered, she saw a man standing still and staring out of the window.

He was wearing a long, black trench coat that ran almost to the floor. Long blonde hair peeked out from under the black skull cap her wore on the top of his head. She stepped in cautiously, her gun drawn.

"Please close the door, Miss Gurlukovich," the man said without even turning his head, "I don't want prying ears to hear us."

Sunny kept her gun pointed at the man as she slowly closed the door. "I know that voice," she said softly as she stepped closer.

"Yes," the man said as he turned, "It's about time you met the man."

"Sypher?" she asked as he took off his thinly crafted sunglasses.

"That's me."

Sunny blinked, "So you _are _real after all. What are you here for. What is your role here?"

Sypher nodded and crossed his arms, "I'm representing a third party. One that would rather the planned events here did not come to pass."

"Are you with the NEF's Secret Intelligence Service?"

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. That is not important. What is important is the information I have for you. Do you know the suits that are hanging around here?"

"Yes," Sunny nodded, "The men funding this project."

Sypher nodded in turn, "Yes, I am here to kill them. Which makes you a very convenient ally at the moment. It is in my best interest to make sure you and your friend survive tonight."

Sunny nodded, "John said you saved his life."

"The Marine SEAL? Yes, I suppose I did. You did one better though. You killed the bitch."

Sunny nodded, "She was...a good person once."

"Yeah, maybe so..."

"This world turned her into what she is. It is so sad."

Sypher shook his head, "I'm sorry to hear that. Though admittedly, it is of little concern to me. She is out of my way. I'm one step to closer to them."

"Who are the men in the suits?" Sunny asked suddenly, trying to change the subject from Damsel and his lack of caring about her fate, "Why are they funding all of this?"

Sypher replied with a half smile, "Those men are the most powerful men in America. At least, since the fall of the Patriots."

"You mean...the government?"

"Oh no, the government wishes it had their influence." Sypher paused to light a cigarette, "Hell, the president answers to them."

"Then who are they?"

"They are the rich and powerful. Their influence comes from their wealth. You see, the country spends trillions of dollars every year on imports, government funded programs, and defense. More money than they have to spend. So in a sense, the NAA goes bankrupt each year. But there is a convenient loophole."

"Like what?" Sunny asked, now wholly interested in what he had to say.

"The American Dollar is accepted worldwide, and is the standard by witch all over currency in the world is measured. So when the NAA runs out of money, they can merely print more of it. Or rather, they get the Federal Reserve to do so."

Syper took a puff of his cig as Sunny looked on, "The downside of this is the Dollar becomes worth less and less, so they have to have the gold to back it up. So with the NAA's spending habits, someone has to bail them out, so the country can keep running."

"Those men?" she asked with a perplexed look, "They give them the gold?"

Sypher nodded as he let out a plume of smoke from his lips, "They pretty much own America. The whole North American Alliance was their idea. As long as they keep the money flowing, their word is law."

Sunny looked at him with curiosity, "But, where do they get all of that money?"

Sypher smiled and exhaled "That's where it gets interesting. You ever hear of the Philosophers' Legacy?"

Sunny's eyes widened as she gasped, "You mean the large cache of funds amassed by the Philosophers during WWII?"

"The same," he said as he took another drag. He paused for a moment, gathering the information in his mind. "You see, the Philosophers at the time were the most powerful individuals in the world. It was an exclusive club for the wealthy, with members from every superpower. They pooled their money into a single massive fortune, so that the group as a whole would be that much more influential. It was headed by twelve people, originally known as the Wisemen's Committee. This committee at the time was the most powerful entity in the history of mankind, effectively ruling the world so to speak."

Sunny looked on in curiosity as two shafts of smoke exploded from his nostrils, "Then, after World War II they began to disagree and fight amongst one another over who would actually control and use the funds. At the helm of the disagreement was China, the United States, and Russia. This event became known more widely in the history books as the Cold War. As they began to crumble, their fortune was stolen from them by the Boris Volgin, one of their most trusted. After his death, his son, Yevgeny Borisovitch Volgin, inherited his wealth and used it to fund his own Shagohod project. That project was his weapon to find the remaining pieces of the Legacy."

"After the legendary Big Boss destroyed his plans, the Legacy vanished, only to be reclaimed and used by the Patriots during their reign. But that reign was ended as well, so once again the Legacy was lost. Want to guess who found it?"

"Those three men?"

"Exactly. They are calling themselves the Wisemen; there are three of them, just as it is in the religious Book of Matthew. They are descended from the original Philosophers; the Legacy is their birthright. Once they recovered what remained of the Legacy, they used it in a series of investments and to establish a wealth of defense companies. These same companies hold contracts with the NAA for their defense budgets. So the original legacy has grown exponentially, more than it was ever worth when the original Committee was established. They wish to use this wealth to reestablish their power and influence."

"But you already said they are the most powerful men in America. Why go to war with the world?"

"I'm not sure that's their goal. It seems too simple somehow. But that's why I'm here: to find out their goals and eliminate them."

"Who sent you to do this?"

"Hey now, no sense in spoiling everything. Have you no love for theatrics? Besides, I'm not the one to worry about. I'm on your side."

Sunny gave him a stern look, then looked away toward the window. "They have John," she said softly.

"Yes. I saw. They will come for you too you know?"

"Yes I know. But I'm going for them as well. Do you know how to get to the Core of the facility from here?"

"Actually I do," he said with a nod, "There is a bridge from the roof. Find the roof access and you'll be fine."

"Thanks. Are you coming too?"

"I will be assisting you, don't worry. But from a distance. I have my own objectives."

"Right. Thanks for your help."

"Oh, I have complete faith that you will repay the favor before the night's end. Of that I am sure." he gestured to the door at the other end of the room. "The roof access is that way. Do have fun."

The Maiden turned toward the door on the other side. After taking a deep breath, she continued on. She carefully made her way down the hall, keeping an eye out for any markers or signs along the way. After what seemed an eternity of wondering, she finally found what she had been looking for, a set of stairs leading to the roof of the building.

She gripped her handgun tightly, keeping her finger on the edge of the trigger. Determined and focused, she was ready for anything. She slowly made her way up the stairs, taking a single step at a time, until finally she was at the top. She opened the door to a pouring rainstorm that was showering the entire roof. The storm was not what caught her attention, however. It was the man waiting for her. It was not Sypher, like before. It was Hunter, wearing his battle gear and wielding his machete.

"It is time," he said gruffly.

Sunny nodded, "So it seems..."


	19. Chapter 18 Bloodsport

_**Chapter 18**_

Bloodsport

The two soldiers stood at opposite sides of the roof, the rain pouring down on them in a heavy blanket of water. Hunter held his machete downward at his side, ready to strike at any moment. Sunny gripped her knife and handgun tightly as she gauged his intent. Thunder boomed in the sky as the two stared at one another. It reminded her of the old action movies she would watch as a child. It seemed rather cliché that storm would happen just as they were about to fight, but appropriate at the same time. She knew she would not succeed in her mission without having to fight him. But she was ready now. She knew she could beat him. She had to. She had to survive.

"You seem ready." he said coldly.

"What makes me ready?" she asked, standing her ground.

"You have finally taken a life. Many now, actually. You are more confident, less nervous. You've gotten some valuable experience."

"I have survived. That is all. And so will I continue. I would advise you not to get in my way."

"Hahaha..." he mused, "that is my entire purpose here. To get in your way. Kill me, Sunny Gurlukovich! Kill me, Solid Snake! Kill me, or I will kill you!"

He lunged at her with his blade ready to strike. She jumped backwards and fired three rounds from her gun. The man easily deflected the shots with his blade and continued after her. As she landed from her jump, she leaped to the right in a barrel roll to dodge his advance.

Hunter landed in a stride and turned to face her. "I see you have improved greatly. I was right."

Sunny shook her head, "We do not have to do this, you know. You could come with me. We could be comrades, like Gray Fox and Snake used to be."

"Don't fool yourself, girl. Gray Fox respected Snake, but hated him. Filled with rage and jealousy. Do not think our situation anything else!"

He lunged at her again but she met him head on this time, parrying his machete with her combat knife. She spun to the side and landed her elbow across his face. As he stumbled, she completed her spin, slamming her handgun into the side of his head. Seeing that she had gained the advantage, she did not relent in her assault. She continued throwing kicks and punches it him until she knocked him off balance. He hit the ground in a backwards roll and quickly got to his feet.

"Yes! This is it! Show me what you are! Show me everything!" he yelled as he rushed at her again.

She threw her leg forwards to kick him again, but this time, he caught her leg and threw her across the roof. She landed in a slide on the water and fought to regain friction before she fell off of the roof. She got to her feet just in time to meet a punch from him head-on, sending her back to the floor of the roof.

As she landed, she fired a shot from her pistol. The round shot from the barrel and scraped across his shoulder. Hunter stumbled backwards and grabbed the wound. Sunny threw herself forward, shoving her elbow into his midsection. The man gasped and she followed up with an upper cut. She quickly got back to her feet, gun drawn and ready to fire again.

Hunter merely laughed in amusement, "A flesh wound. If you are not ready to kill me, Sunny Gurlukovich, then I will kill you. You must realize what is at stake here."

"But you are not my enemy," she said sternly, "I count you as friend tonight."

"Oh I see." he retorted, "Let's see what we can do to change your thought processes."

She charged at him this time, only to be met with his forearm and crashing to the ground again. Before she could react, he stomped on her hand and made her drop the gun. He kicked her in her ribs and kicked the gun, sending it flying from the roof. She watched the gun fall from the roof before he slammed his fist down into her chest.

She gasped for air as he picked her up and threw her again. She landed in a another slide, this time, nearly falling from the roof. The rain continued to pour and the thunder continued to boom as he came toward her. She got up to ready herself, but was too late. He threw another punch in her gut, then pushed her backwards. She fell from the roof, barely managing to grab the edge to hold on. The water from the rain gushed against her face as she struggled to keep her grip.

He stood over her as she tried to pull herself up. "Do you realize now. I will kill you. Fight me! Give me a real fight to the death!" he said to her as he raised his machete to slash at her. She quickly stabbed her combat knife into his foot and used her now free hand to get better leverage. She screamed and stammered away from the ledge, giving her enough time to force herself up. He bent over to pull the knife from his foot and she saw her chance.

Without even thinking, she charged at him and landed a kick to his head. He fell to his knees, and she followed up with a roundhouse kick to the side of his head. As he fell, she forced her foot into his gut. On instinct, he grabbed the foot and pulled it out from under her. The two adversaries got back to their feet and Hunter pulled the knife from his foot.

"Ah yes! The pain. give me the pain!" he screamed with joy as he threw her knife back to her.

She picked up the knife as she kept her focus completely on him. She knew now that she could not let her defenses down for him. If she did. She was dead. She would have to do whatever it took. She gripped the knife and held it firmly.

"The rage," he said, "it is growing, responding to you. If I kill you, it will finally go away."

"You have issues," she said tauntingly, "Allow me to help you deal with those."

Hunter smirked under the cloth covering his mouth, "So this is it. One will live, one will die. The way it is meant to be!"

He charged at her again, his machete ready for blood. She stood still, waiting for him to get exactly where she wanted him. As he got close enough, she shot up with a kick, knocking him off balance. She landed on his midsection and used her momentum to leap up and slam down on him with another kick. As she returned to the ground, she readied her combat knife and smiled with her victory.

Hunter got to his feet in a rage and came after her again, slashing in all directions. She ducked and dodged the slashes with graceful agility. This only infuriated him more and finally he had had enough. While she was busy dodging his kicks, he threw his knee into her gut. The blow caught her off guard and knocked the breath of her. Before she could react he threw is elbow up and caught her in the head. The force of the blow sent her reeling into a backwards flip before she hit the ground.

She struggled to catch her breath as the man closed the distance between them. He picked her up over his head and slammed her into the floor of the roof again. The air was still not getting into her lungs and she was beginning to panic.

She glanced up to see his fist coming down at her. As he struck her, her head bounced off of the concrete. Her vision blurred and began to flash white. Hunter stood over her, looking down as she breathed heavily and bled from her nose and mouth. He grunted and turned to walk away from her. "You are still not ready, after all."

As he began to walk away, he heard splashing in the water. He turned to see a battered Sunny getting to her feet. "No." she said as she regained her breathing, " We are not done yet. I have not given up."

He clapped at her in a mocking manner, "You really are resilient, I'll give you that. But I can't kill you until you are at your full potential."

"Then I will kill you!" she screamed as she charged at him with her combat knife.

He spun and caught her with a slash to her mid section. She cringed as the blow stunned her. Hunter kicked the knife from her hand and threw down his machete. He pummeled her with a series of punches, each more powerful than the last.

Her head began spinning and her vision grew dark. With one last burst of energy, he threw his knee into her face and put her back on the ground. Blood dripped from the gashes on her face, and the large cut across her chest. As her vision went in and out, she saw him calmly pick up his blade and make his way toward her.

As he neared, she knew he had won. She thought that she could beat him, but she could not. She could not survive. She could not save Snake, or John, or her mother. "Snake..." she whispered with her last breath as Hunter slammed the hilt of the blade into her head.


	20. Chapter 19 A Helping Hand

_**Chapter 19**_

A Helping Hand

Sunny lay in darkness, in misery. Everything hurt. Her arms hurt as she tried to lift herself. Her legs hurt when she as she tried to stand. Her lungs hurt with every breath. Her head hurt with every thought. She was broken, she was defeated...was she dead?

"Sunny..." a familiar, gruff voice called out to her.

"S-snake?" she gasped as she breathed and wheezed.

"Sunny, wake up." the voice called out again.

"Snake, where are you?"

"Over here, kid."

"I cannot see you.."

"You have to get up."

"I cannot."

"You will not."

"W-what..?"

"You wanted to be my successor. You have to push through this. No way I would have given up yet. You're still soft kid."

"Snake...I am going to die here. You were right. I am not good enough."

"Ugh," the voice said in discuss, "I'm gonna need a smoke." After a short pause, it continued, "You're fine, kid. You just got roughed up a bit. Take a ration, you'll be okay."

Sunny smiled, "I do not think it works that way Snake. That is just in VR Training."

"Whatever, the point is you're still kicking. Now get up."

Sunny closed her eyes and put all of her might into pushing herself up. Tears fell from her eyes as she fought against the pain. Finally, it became too much. She could bear the agony no more. Her body crashed back down with a thud. "Snake," she said as the tears went down her cheeks, "it hurts so much..."

"I know, kid..." he said softly, with empathy in his voice, "You just gotta keep going. This is part of the job."

"I...I cannot do it."

"Focus..."

"Snake, I-"

"Focus!"

Sunny pushed up with all of her might. The pain shot through her in a blaze of agony, but she tried her best to put it in the back of her mind.

"Go, kid!" she heard the voice say.

She pushed harder, ignored it more. Tears poured down as the pain became greater and greater. She gritted her teeth and pushed on.

"Go!"

"I am going!"

"Faster! Push yourself!"

"Snake!"

"Go!"

With one final push, she shot up to her knees and eventually to her feet. With all of her might, she held herself steady, trying with everything she had not to fall again. She took a deep breath, and suddenly the black began to disintegrate. She looked around her as all the black became the bright white that she was accustomed to. And then there, right in front of her, Snake appeared from nothingness, a proud smile on his face.

"Ya did good, kid."

"It hurts so much..."

Snake nodded, "Pain is weakness leaving the body. You are much stronger than you were, and now you're getting stronger still."

Sunny smiled, "Thank you..."

"So you're back." he said abruptly, trying to avoid an awkward moment, "That must mean you're unconscious again."

Sunny shook her head, "I lost. I thought I could beat him, but I lost."

Snake nodded, "Yeah, Gray Fox. He was a tough one. I imagine Hunter is just as tough. And he's more experienced. You're good kid, but you're still green. He knows you're still not ready, he won't kill you until he's sure he earned his victory. If he's anything like Frank Jaeger, such a victory won't bring him anything but regret."

"So I'm still alive..."

"Of course. Don't go dying on me so soon. You promised Otacon you'd live, remember? I taught ya better than that."

"I know...what is going to happen to me?"

Snake shook his head, "I don't know kid."

"I thought I was ready for this."

"You'll never be ready for this, that's the point..."

"What do you mean?"

"You just have to survive. No matter what. Ya never give in until the job's done, kid. That's just how it is."

"But the pain, it is so much..."

"Good, so take the pain and channel it into your resolve. The more it hurts, the harder you try."

Sunny looked down, "Snake..."

"Yes?"

"Can I...just stay here. With you."

"Hmph," he snickered, "Why would you wanna do that."

"It is so peaceful here. And...I miss you so much. I just want to stay."

Snake shook his head, "Sorry kid, this place is just for me. Your place is out there, saving the world from my legacy."

"But-"

"Hey, Sunny..."

"Y-yes?"

"You got a smoke?"

"What? That's not the-"

Suddenly her mentor began to fade. She started to run after him, but it was too late, he was gone. Then she stopped, as if frozen in time. She could not move and the white became brighter. She closed her eyes to shield them, but the brightness continued to grow.

As her eyes began to focus, she noticed that she was now staring into a bright white light shining from the ceiling. She looked around to see she was strapped on some sort of restraining table.

Before she could make sense of where she was, the table began to raise to an incline. The table continued to rise and four figures came into view. Three of them she recognized as the Wisemen that Sypher had warned her about, the men funding Metal Gear Moses. But the fourth was the person she had come for. The person she had endured everything for. Sunny was finally face to face with Olga Gurlukovich.

Author's Note

I appreciate everyone's patience with me to finish this fanfiction. I know it has spanned years. With school and work and everything, it was hard for me to find time to plan the rest of the story, much less actually write it. But fear not, the story is complete now and the rest of the chapters will be added as i finish editing them. I plan on one per day, but will at least finish one per week. On a lighter note, Sunny's story will not end here. I have had a great experience with her character and how she has grown and want to continue on. Though this story will be self contained and will stand on its own, I am already at work planning a sequel. And worry not, school is over and I am working on a straight schedule, so the next installment will not take nearly as long to complete. Again, thank you for your patience with me and I hope you enjoy the rest!

- Kel Jarman-


	21. Chapter 20 Revelations

_**Chapter 20**_

Revelations

As a young girl, Sunny had spent many nights lying awake in bed and thinking of what she would say to her mother if she could ever have just one chance to meet her. She had so many things to say, so many questions. So many answers she needed. Yet here, now, she could think of none of those. One word muttered from her lips as tears streamed down her cheeks, "Mother..."

Olga Gurlukovich stared back at her with a grin, "Oh Sunny. I have waited so long to see you again. To talk to you as a young woman."

"Mother I-"

"I know sweetheart," she said, "I know..."

"Rayne," one of the men said as he nudged her, "It's time."

Sunny looked on in confusion as tears welled in Olga's eyes, "Not yet. I need this. It was part of our deal."

"No." the man said, "The NAA will be coming for their Marine SEAL team soon. We need to speed this along."

Olga turned to stare at the man, "No Balthazar! I haven't seen her in twenty years! I want to talk to her!"

"Mother?" Sunny asked perplexed.

Olga stared down in grief, "I wish we would have had more time...as mother and daughter. I truly do."

Sunny watched in horror and dismay as the woman in front of her transformed from Olga Gurlukovich to another person entirely. She wore a sleek black body suit, with a black face cover on. She lowered her head and pulled the mask off, revealing her short cropped black hair and striking green eyes, a polar opposite of Olga Gurlukovich.

"Come on," the man said, "You didn't really believe your mother was alive, did you?" He laughed a cold uncaring laugh and continued, "Olga Gurlukovich died over twenty years ago, shot in the head by Solidus Snake. No way she survived that."

"Octopus Rayne," Sunny said through tears, "this whole time it was you."

"Yes." she replied through a whimper, "It was me..."

The man called Balthazar stepped forward, "Octopus Rayne posed as Olga Gurlukovich to draw you here. She also posed as the doctor, Victor Ward, to feed you the information to bring you to us. Octo Camo truly is the future of politics." A sick grin crossed his face, belying the pleasure underneath.

Sunny struggled to make sense of what was going on, "But why...?"

Balthazar "We are running a field test for Metal Gear Moses. As the successor to Solid Snake, you were chosen to test our new model."

"Chosen..?"

"Yes. You will take on the new Metal Gear and attempt to destroy it. We have a wealth of test data, but we are in need of real-world field data, and who better than Snake's disciple? Over twenty years ago, you were taken from your mother by the Patriots to ensure her cooperation in helping Raiden succeed in their Solid Snake Simulation. After the fall of the Patriots, we recovered the results of that simulation."

He paused for a moment, as if to savor his position above her, "Ironic if you think about it. You were there at the beginning, and now you will conclude the Solid Snake Simulation."

Sunny looked on questioningly, "Simulation...to test me?"

Balthazar nodded, "Now you understand, young lady. We planned everything you experienced here tonight. To test you, and to prepare you for what's to come. We need a true Solid Snake, not a rookie. So, we decided to condition you before your test. Everything that you have experienced tonight has been scripted."

He cleared his throat, "We intentionally stole the NAA warhead so that they would send a squad here to reclaim it. We also used our own influence to convince them to send your friend as part of the recovery team. Snake had a friend of the opposite sex in Shadow Moses. We needed you to have one as well. Victor Ward played the part of the regretful scientist that wanted nothing more than repentance in stopping what he had created. I believe that was the role of your dear friend, Hal Emmerich."

"Otacon..." Sunny whispered in sadness.

The man continued, "FOX was gathered merely to give you an enemy. FOX was the 'evil' that had to stopped. It kept you going, especially given that it was led by Olga Gurlukovich, who played our Big Boss quite admirably. Even Hunter was chosen because we knew he would aid you, as Gray Fox aided Solid Snake."

Sunny shook her head, "All of this just to get me here?"

"No. This was to train you, to condition you to fight Moses. Metal Gear is the real reason you are here."

"And if I refuse?"

The man merely chuckled, "We are going to launch the Metal Gear either way. You know what it is capable of. Would you really do nothing while that hell is unleashed on the world? Is that the legacy you want Solid Snake to leave behind?"

"So this was all a lie?!" she screamed in defiance, "You...you called me your daughter. How could you do that? How could you lie to me about something so precious?!"

"You are my daughter!" Rayne yelled back, "I took care of you way more than that bitch ever did! How can you love her and not me..?"

Sunny shook her head with confusion, "What...are you talking about?"

Balthazar laughed eerily, "She doesn't know, does she Rayne? She doesn't know why you lead those who would set the world ablaze."

"It was me," Rayne said as she wiped the tears from her eyes, "I'm the one who took you when you were born...for the Patriots. I took care of you the entire time you were there."

She stared off into the distance, "After my lover, Decoy Octopus, was killed, I had given up on having a child of my own. But then, you came to me. I loved you like any mother would. I fed you, held you, loved you. But then, they let him take you from me..."

"What? Who?"

"The Patriots. They let the operative 'rescue' you."

"Raiden? Wait, they _let_ him take me.."

"How else would you think he succeeded against them? He is one man, they were a vast network of AI's." She shook her head, "You were deemed as no more use to them. So they arranged for your rescue. They wanted to observe how you lived in normal society with the AI exposure they gave you. Your reflexes and advanced logic, your immense comprehension of computer programs and networks. They had quite high hopes for you. You represented what the human race could be, the next step in evolution."

She swallowed hard and continued, " When you were freed, you learned about your birth mother. By the time I found you, you only knew her. You had...completely forgotten me. I left the Patriots and went underground, trying to put that part of my life behind me too. But then, the Wisemen came to me. They offered me a chance for revenge. And another chance to see you, and talk to you...and know you. So I took it."

Sunny nodded, "So that's your stake in this war..."

"Yes! I will destroy this world, the world that took him from me, the world that took you from me! I will set the world ablaze!"

"Your lover, Decoy Octopus? He died over thirty years ago, at Shadow Moses. But you...you look so young."

A rash look of grief and anger shot across Rayne's face. "Life extending nano-machines. I was cursed with those decades before I even met him. I cannot die, forced to suffer through life's evils. It is my burden, my curse."

"Wait...I have another question." Sunny said with a look of deep thought, "If you're Octopus Rayne, why are you listed in the medical records as my mother?"

"What?" Rayne asked curiously, "What are you talking about child?"

"Subject Gurlukovich. The test subject for the new FOXDIE virus. I understand if you wanted me to think you were my mother, but why use her name in the data files? Why not your name? Would that not have been more convenient?"

Rayne appeared genuinely confused, "Subject Gurlukovich? I know nothing of that."

The man called Balthazar stepped forward with a grin, "Of course, the files we fed you. You thought it was your mother." His grin grew wider as he made his revelation, showing his delight in every second of it, "You are Subject Gurlukovich."

"What..." Sunny gasped.

"When you were captured, before you awoke, you were injected with the virus, just as Snake was on his mission. We needed real world data on both the virus and the Solid Snake Simulation. Injecting you with the virus solved both of those dilemmas."

"Wait!" Rayne yelled, "Why was I not informed of this?"

"It was done before you arrived as Victor Ward. You have...attachments to the girl. We decided it was better you did not know."

"You decided..." she whispered, "You decided! She's mine! You promised me! How could you do that?!"

"This is bigger than the girl, and you. Focus on your revenge, this is the only way to get there."

Rayne bowed her head in sorrow. Tears welled in Sunny's eyes, "Am I...going to die?"

"That's what we are going to find out," the man said gruffly, "FOXDIE could not kill Solid Snake. We are interested in seeing how you handle it."

"Snake..." Sunny whimpered in desperation.

"Hahaha..." one of the other Wisemen laughed, "Solid Snake can't save you now. The FOXDIE virus was born from him. He's the one killing you, girl."

"Enough, Melchoir." Balthazar said sternly, "Think about what I have said. When you are ready, you will face Moses." He turned to the other two men, "Melchoir, Gaspar, come. We have much to prepare for. Hunter's execution will be beginning."

Sunny's eyes widend. They were going to kill him...his role in their game was over.

The Wisemen turned from her and began to exit the room. Rayne reached out to Sunny, "I just wanted to see you again. To tell you the truth...I just, wanted you back."

"Shut up!" Sunny lashed out. "This is all your fault! You've killed me, you know! And in my mother's name! I will never be your daughter!"

Rayne's sorrowful expression quickly transformed to a glare of rage. "Rayne." Balthazar called out, "Let's go."

Rayne's eyes twitched as she begrudgingly turned to join the other three as they exited the room. Sunny lay strapped to the bed, struggling with all of her newfound information.

How could tonight have gotten any worse than it already was, she thought to herself. Everything she was, was now being tested. Yet, perhaps that was the whole point to the Wismen's game, to push her all the way to the edge. It was working, but she was not as strong as they believed. She did in fact take over Solid Snake's legacy, but she was beginning to realize that she would never have his strength, his spirit, his resolve. She would never be the legendary Solid Snake. She was broken...defeated, and she had not even faced Metal Gear yet.

"Metal Gear..." she muttered. She would have to fight it, she knew. If there was chance she could stop it she had to, even if Balthazar and the other Wisemen were confident she would fail. And she would fail. She would face off against the machine, but she knew she would not survive. With the virus in her system, however, she would die anyway. One last fight, one last struggle. It would be the way Snake would want her to go. She took a deep breath as she resolved to fight Metal Gear Moses.

The door opened slowly as her thoughts spun around her. Her stomach cringed at the thought of the Wisemen returning. But, as if the one thing that had gone her way all night, the man who entered was not one of the Wisemen. It was the man she had come to save.

"I do not understand," she said as she looked on.

"I'm here to get you out," John said in response.

"But you were taken." she said as he began undoing her restraints.

"Yes, but not to Rayne." he said.

"Then where?"

"To Hunter's quarters. He told me everything. He also gave me these weapons and this key card." He handed an assault rifle and a pistol to Sunny as she began to regain her balance. "We're going to destroy Metal Gear."

He readied his rifle and nodded to her, "But first, we have to get out of here."


	22. Chapter 21 Side Effects

_**Chapter 21**_

Side Effects

As the two comrades exited the room, the alarms sounded throughout the Head-Wing. The entire facility was going on high alert, but it did not matter. They knew Metal Gear would be active soon, and they had to stop it.

"How do you want to do this?" John asked as they marched down the corridor, "Stealth precision? Or brute force?"

Sunny grinned, "I have been sneaking all damn night! I need some excitement!"

"You know they'll probably kill us!" He nodded.

"I'm dying anyway...might as well take these bastards with me!"

"Wait what? Dying?"

"We'll talk later! Look!" She replied as two soldier entered the opposite end of the corridor.

The two opened fire without slowing their momentum, the guards quickly fell, but they both knew more would come. They passed the door into a long and narrow hallway.

"We need to find my gear," Sunny said as they marched down the corridor, "I have a map of the facility."

"Right," John nodded.

Sunny bowed her head in sorrow, "Also I...I need to speak to Otacon."

"Sunny, what's going on?"

"Later." She said simply and directly.

As they reached the door, they heard a series of footsteps marching toward it. Both of them instinctively pressed to the walls on either side of the door, guns ready. They looked at one another and nodded as the door opened.

Two patrolling guards eased slowly through the door with their weapons drawn as well. As soon as they passed through the door, the two operatives shoved the butts of their guns into the backs of their heads. The two men crashed to the ground. Before the other guards could react, the rushed through the door and began bashing. And kicking their way through the crowd.

Panic proved an invaluable ally as their foes scrambled in confusion. In mere moments they were all incapacitated, without a single gunshot being fired. Sunny looked up at John and smiled.

"We do well together."

John smiled back and grabbed her shoulder, "Now let's get out of here. Alive."

Sunny's smile began to fade. After just an instant of sadness, her face turned cold and stern, "Let's move. We need to find my equipment. They are going to kill Hunter. If we don't find him soon, they will succeed."

"What? I-"

"Let's move."

John stood for a moment and watched as she walked off. He grimaced at the confusion and uneasiness that surrounded her. As he stared, he tried to imagine what was happening to her. One thing he knew for sure, it couldn't be good. Whatever it was, it was bad. Real bad.

He shook his head and tried to shrug it all off. After another moment, he rushed to catch up with her. "I saw a security office on my way to find your cell," he said, "Perhaps your gear will be there, or at least a clue as to where to find it."

Sunny simply nodded and continued to pace forward. John followed as they made their way down the hall and to the room her friend had mentioned. They slowly opened the door, then rushed in with their guns ready to fire. They stopped in their tracks and stared at each other in disbelief. Even through all of the alarms, the security guard in the surveillance room was asleep on the job.

Sunny shook her head and John laughed lightly to himself as they approached the sleeping man. Sunny knelt down and threw her arm into his side. The man awoke with a gasp to have the barrel of a rifle shoved into his mouth. Sunny pulled his gaze over to her as his thoughts began to center on what was happening.

"See my friend here?" She asked as she motioned to John, "He lost a lot of friends tonight and he is eager to take that out on someone. I will try to hold back his temper, but I need you to help me. Do you understand?"

The guard nodded nervously as John pulled the rifle from his mouth. Sunny looked up into his eyes, "I need my gear, do you know where they keep confiscated prisoner possessions?"

The guard slowly nodded once more.

"Where?" She asked.

He quickly pointed to a closet on the far right wall. "Everything is in there."

Sunny nodded and John aimed his gun sternly at the guard as she made her way over into the closet. After a moment she returned with all of her equipment; most importantly the digital screen on her wrist that held the map of the facility.

"How do we get to the Core," she asked as she walked back to the guard, "How do we get to Metal Gear Moses?"

"T-the roof," he said nervously, "There are choppers there that can be flown to the Core. It is only accessible by roof. A security measure."

Sunny nodded, "Can you save us some time and tell us how to get there?"

"Take a left from this room and um...follow...the next three corridors. Then, um, t-take the second hall on the right. That will lead to the roof access."

"Thank you. We will not kill you, but you know what we have to do."

The guard paused for a minute, then nodded. John immediately slammed the butt of his rifle into the guards head and he slumped down in his chair. John looked over at Sunny, who was already pulling up a line of communication.

"Maiden reporting in...Otacon, do you read?"

"Otacon, reading loud and clear." The line responded after a moment of silence.

"Otacon..." She said as tears welled in her eyes, "My mother...it's Octopus Rayne. She posed as my mother to lead me here..."

John's heart sank as he heard her revelation, he looked on with concern as she talked with her mentor.

"Oh Maiden," Otacon responded, "I'm so sorry..."

"They chose us to test against their Metal Gear. Everything was planned from the beginning. They wanted me to face the challenges Snake did...to condition me for-"

"The Solid Snake Simulation," Otacon cut her off, "Just like they did with Hunter."

"Yes...that is correct."

"... how are you doing? Are you safe?"

Her voice fell silent. John pursed his lips as he saw her falter, "Sunny, whats's going on? You...you need to tell us."

A tear streamed down the girls cheek as she bit her lip, "They infected me with FOXDIE..." She gasped, almost as if in a whisper.

"What?!" Otacon exclaimed. John merely stared on in perplexity.

"The first time I was captured...they injected me with the virus." The young girl fought back her tears with all of her might as she continued, "Subject Gurlukovich was not my mother, it was...me. They wanted...they wanted me to be same as Snake."

"FOXDIE," John cut in "Sunny...you're not gonna.."

"I do not know," she said slowly, "It does not have a very high survival rate. There has only ever been one survivor..."

"Solid Snake..." He said as his voice trailed off.

"Sunny," Otacon chimed in, "I need you to do something for me."

"Yes? What is it?"

"I need you to send me a blood sample. Maybe I can study the new strain of the virus, learn something that could help."

"Right," she said as she cut her finger with her knife. John watched as she pressed her finger against a contraption on the computer on her wrist. Suddenly the door handle began to jiggle.

"Hey Sun," John said as the computer began scanning the sample, "You might want to hurry."

"Just a moment," she said as the handle began to jiggle harder.

John aimed his rifle and steadied it on the door. The scan completed and Sunny immediately drew her handgun. The door burst open with an explosion and the soldiers rushed in. The two began to fire indiscriminately at the onslaught of resistance. The soldiers dropped one after another as they poured in. After the firing ceased, Sunny immediately holstered her handgun and picked her rifle up from the floor.

"Otacon," she said quickly into the com link, "Let me know what you find out. We are getting out of here."

"Right, Otacon out."

She looked over to speak to John, only to see him kneeling on the floor. "John! You are hit!"

"It's okay," he said through a groan, "Just scraped me in the shoulder." He stood and motioned forward, "We're almost there. Move out."

Sunny nodded reluctantly and the two moved through the door and out of the room. The route was pretty straight forward, just as the security guard had said it would be.

They kept their guns aimed forward with their senses honed. The alarm was still bellowing throughout the complex and it was just a matter of time before more guns showed up.

Sunny pushed John aside and took point. He looked over to see a very stern look on her face, "You are injured, you will lower our survival rate if you are in front."

John smiled, knowing she was trying to hide her concern, "I'm fine I assure you."

He moved forward and Sunny pushed her elbow into his gut, "Watch our backs," she said forcefully.

He merely shook his head, "Whatever you say."

The two pressed on and made their way for the roof. Sunny began to feel anxious, remembering her last encounter on a rooftop of the complex. Her anxiety grew as they entered the stairway and began to climb.

She knew Metal Gear awaited them, but she had not the faintest idea what else. She swallowed hard as they reached the top of the stairs. Nervously, she reached out and turned the handle to open the door. Her eyes widened at the sight.

Hunter was there, just as before. This time, however, his hands were bound and Rayne and the three men were standing over him. The man called Balthazar looked up and smiled, "You two are just in time."

Sunny and John raised their guns and made their way out onto the roof, "In time for what?" Sunny asked as they came forward, already knowing the answer.

Balthazar laughed an eerie laugh, "This man stands accused of treason. We are carrying out his execution."

Sunny shuddered, "Execution..?"

"This man has aided two intruders many times tonight. He must be put to death."

"But you said you planned for him to help me!" Sunny yelled, "Like Gray Fox helped Snake!"

Balthazar chuckled, "You are quite correct, young lady." He looked down at Hunter, the glared at Sunny, "But Gray Fox died that night. This man must play his final role."

Sunny aimed her rifle at the man's head, "I would not be so cocky if I were you."

Balthazar merely laughed, "Perhaps I should say the same to you, young lady."

As Sunny's expression grew puzzled, she suddenly felt a sharp blow against her back that brought her to her knees. She gasped as the air left her lungs and saw John fall as well. In shock, she looked up to see a small sawed-off shotgun pointed at her head. Sypher looked down at her as he aimed his other gun at John. "I would advise the two of you to drop your weapons."

Sunny glared up at him, piercing his eyes. "You son of a bitch," she scowled as she dropped her rifle.

"So," John said matter-of-factly, "You've had another pawn on the board all along."

"But of course, sir," the man called Caspar cut in, "There is nothing happening here tonight that we did not lay out. Statistically, our simulation has proceeded perfectly."

Sypher snickered, "So then, shall we get on with this?"

"You have a point," Balthazar agreed, "It is time to see this through, our final exercise."

"Leave the traitor and the Marine SEAL here," Sypher said to the group, "I will deal with them. Take the girl and prepare her."

Balthazar hesitated at first, then nodded, "Come, young lady. It is time."

Sunny scowled, "I am not going anywhere unless both of them live. To hell with your simulation."

The man called Melchoir nodded, "Bring her."

Sypher nodded and reached for the young operative. Sunny took her chance and swept her leg into his ankle. Sypher fell back and Sunny knocked one of his shotguns out of his hand and pushed the barrel of the other to the side of his head. She drew her handgun with her other hand and aimed it at the three men and Otcopus Rayne.

"Untie him." She ordered.

The men merely laughed, while Rayne watched in silence.

"Let him go!" She yelled. But the her head began to pound, her vision blurred.

"We are in charge here, young lady," Balthazar said confidently. As his words reached Sunny, they were slurred and barely understandable. Something was happening to her.

John stood and watched as she stumbled backwards. "Sunny! What's wrong with you?"

Sunny dropped both guns and continued to stumble. "What game is this?" Balthazar said puzzled. Sypher turned as well, as surprised as any of them. Sunny's blurred vision became red and she fell to her knees.

"Sunny!" John yelled as he ran to her.

"FOXDIE...?" She mumble confusedly as her eyes rolled backwards and she fell to the ground.

Sypher grabbed his guns and slammed them into John's side. He fell to his knees and Sypher stomped into his back.

"Sunny..." He said as he reached for the girl.

Sunny tried to force her eyes to stay open as she reached up for him. The red in her vision got deeper and deeper until she could not keep her eyes open any longer. With one final push she reached for him, but Sypher kicked him over on his back. With her hope lost, Sunny fell into darkness.


	23. Chapter 22 The Guardian

_**Chapter 22**_

The Guardian

Sunny awoke in the white room, with Solid Snake sitting next to her. He looked down at her with a look of concern and compassion, "How ya feelin, kid?"

"Terrible..." She mumbled as she grabbed her head.

"You've been through a lot tonight," he said proudly, "You are tougher than I ever gave you credit for."

Sunny smiled against the pain, "Thanks, I always tried to be tough...for you."

"Yeah...I know, kid. Too tough. You were a little girl, you should have stayed a little girl."

Sunny sat up and rested her hand on his shoulder, "I became what I wanted to. None of it is your fault."

Snake shook his head and grunted. "All of this is my fault. Everything is because of me, my legacy."

"Snake..."

"You know why you are here this time, don't you."

Sunny nodded, "FOXDIE attacked me."

Snake sighed, "Yep..."

Sunny shook her head, "I am not gonna die, Snake. Not yet. I'm gonna fight, to the very end. I will destroy Metal Gear. I will not die until then."

Snake grinned, "Good, see that you don't. And I will be with you every step of the way."

Sunny began to cough and Snake patted her back, "Here, kid, take this." He waved his hand and a green, circular shaped object appeared. It was military rations.

"Snake I told you, these only work in VR training."

Snake merely grinned, "Just try it."

Sunny stared at him for a moment, then slowly reached out toward the ration. As her fingertips touched it, it sparkled and then burst out into a disintegration. Almost instantly, she began to feel better. She looked up questioningly at Snake.

He merely shrugged, "How about that?"

Sunny smiled and forced herself up to her feet. She stumbled a bit at first. But regained her balance. "What happened to John?"

Snake shook his head, "How would I know. I only know what you know. And well...what I know. Or knew."

Sunny nodded, "Right." She took a few steps and looked back at him, " Then you know it was all a set up. They lured me here to turn me into you."

He nodded, "The new Legendary Soldier. Just like Raiden."

"Yeah..."

"It's been this way, since Big Boss, ya know."

"Really?"

"Yeah, ever since he defeated the Boss...hailed as the Legendary Soldier. Every big organization with money has been trying to make their own. That's how I was born. It happened to Gray Fox, Raiden, and Hunter. It's a sickness, and it will never stop spreading."

"Like FOXDIE..." She mumbled to herself.

"Sunny," he said to her abruptly.

She looked over at the soldier, "Yes, Snake."

"Destroy Metal Gear. Rid this world of that abomination."

She nodded, "I will."

Snake stood, "Destroy Metal Gear, then kill them all. This is your game, not theirs."

"Snake..." She said as she looked down.

"I mean it, kid. Take them down. If you don't end it here, they will not give up until you join them...or end up like me."

"I know, Snake."

"And then, I need you to do me a favor."

Sunny looked up at him curiously. "What is it, Snake?"

"FOXDIE." He grunted back at her, "You created the computer virus based on the make-up of the biological version."

"Yes, I did."

"I need you to destroy the real thing. After you deal with Metal Gear, you have to get rid of FOXDIE, once and for all."

"Destroy...FOXDIE?"

"Yeah, kid. It's too dangerous. I had hoped it'd died with me. But it seems that's not the case."

"But the only way to do that is..."

Snake nodded slowly, "Stop this outbreak. Then you and Otacon use my body to create a vaccine...then burn it. You have to cremate me."

"Snake."

"No more FOXDIE. No more Legendary Soldier DNA. It will all end. You gotta end it, kid."

A tear came from her eye as she nodded, "I will end it, Snake."

She looked up at Snake with grief and resolution. She stood and saluted her mentor. "I will end this. The Boss, Big Boss, and you, Snake. I will live on, for all of you. I will end it all. Your struggles will not be in vein!"

Snake merely grinned and grunted, "Don't let me down, kid. You and Otacon are all I got. You have a chance to save the world, a chance you always wanted, even if it was all a ruse. Don't blow it."

"I will not let you down."

"See that you don't. Oh, and one more thing."

"Yeah, Snake?"

"It's time to wake up."

"No!" Sunny yelled, "I am not ready to leave yet!" She reached out to grab him, but as she touched him, the soldier disintegrated into a cloud of particles and faded away. Before she could react, she awoke to the alert of her communications device.

Sunny looked around at her surroundings, trying to make sense of where she was. She slowly pushed herself up and tapped the device around her ear. "Maiden here, responding."

"Maiden!" Otacon's voice shouted at her, "I've been trying you for over an hour! Where are you? Are you okay?"

"Yes I am fine. I am not sure where I am." She glanced around the room, scanning her surroundings, "It is just an empty room."

"Okay I want you to stay on the line with me until you get out. So I can help get you out of there."

"Okay," she said softly.

"You seem distracted."

"Yes, a little. I'm still trying to get my head straight."

"Did you see Snake again?"

"...Yes. I think I am losing my mind."

"No, Maiden. That is why I have been trying to reach you!" Now that he knew she was safe, Otacon was now sounding very excited, "Maiden, Snake really IS in your head!"

Sunny shook her head in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"When you were injected with FOXDIE! You were given a dose of the direct virus, straight from the corpse of Solid Snake. When they injected you, you were also injected with a large number of Snake's nano-machines. His nano-machines replicated themselves and are using the virus as a catalyst to interact with yours."

"What...? I-"

"Maiden, in a weird cyber sense, Snake's essence is literally with you. His memories, experiences, everything is there. He appears young to you because that was his age when he was given the machines. And now that consciousness is protecting you. It is keeping you alive and keeping the virus at bay. When you see him in your dreams, that is his nano-machines communicating with yours. This is remarkable, Maiden. Solid Snake is still looking out for you. And you literally carry his legacy!"

"Snake...is still with me?"

"Yes, he is."

Sunny smiled uncontrollably. She suddenly felt more confident than she had all night that she would make it out alive. "Snake..."

She stood firm and took a deep breath, "Otacon, I have to find Metal Gear. I have to stop this now."

"Right, Maiden." Otacon replied, "Go end it."

Sunny left her device on and smiled. Snake and Otacon are with me, she thought to herself.

She resolved herself and clenched her fist as she opened the door. She stepped out of the room and into a large warehouse. She gasped with surprise as she entered. It turned out she would not have to look very far.

The view in front of her was dominated by Metal Gear Moses. The massive bipedal walking nuclear battle tank was a truly imposing view. Solid Snake had described it to her many times, but none of his stories prepared her for the sight of this ungodly weapon. Two massive titanium legs supported the chiseled cockpit. Two arms stuck out from the sides of the cockpit, each wielding massive pile bunkers. Sheets of metal sprawled around its back, apparently supporting the massive cannon on its back and the two machine guns on its shoulders.

"Metal Gear..." She whispered in a gasp.

"Beautiful, isn't it." a voice called out, catching her by surprise. Sunny glanced over to see the woman making her way out of the shadows under Metal Gear. She carried a titanium staff, twirling it around her as she approached."

Sunny's eyes narrowed, "Rayne..."

5


	24. Chapter 23 A Mother's Love

_**Chapter 23**_

A Mother's Love

"I just wanted to be with you..." Rayne said softly, grief catching in her throat, "I just wanted to be mother and daughter with you once more."

"But I am not your daughter." Sunny replied sternly.

"And yet you are Olga's daughter? A woman you knew for just a few seconds? I raised you for three years in Area 51! I would be your mother if the Patriots had not let him take you."

"No!" Sunny yelled, clenching her fists, "Even then you would not be my mother! You stole me! It is true that I only knew my mother for a few moments...and it is because of you! You and the Patriots took that away from me."

The words struck Rayne like a thousand bullets. She glared at Sunny with intense anger and rage. And then, as if in an instant, the grief returned, "I did not steal you. The Patriots did. If it had not been me, it would have been someone else. You know that as well as I do. But then, you looked up at me and...you, you smiled at me. I wished you were my child, to take care of and keep that smile on your face forever."

"Then, why did you not simply have your own child?"

Rayne bowed her head, the sorrow growing, "I was going to. I found the love of my life. I was going to marry him, as soon as he asked." She took a step forward and knocked her staff against the floor of the facility, "They killed him. The Patriots. With the same virus they gave you."

Sunny shook her head, "FOXDIE..."

"Yes, the many lifetimes of sorrow in my existence was washed away when I was with him. But then...they took him away. Just another tragedy, just another failed life. But then, I found one last hope. One last source of joy that could show me the good in life."

Sunny gasped, "You mean..."

"Yes, Sunny. You were such a happy child, even through their experiments. I loved you so much. I was finally happy. And then, they finished their experiments. They learned Raiden was looking for you and decided to arrange for your rescue so that they could observe the results of their tests. Ironic that you proved to be their downfall."

"I...I do not know what to say."

"Finally, I was free from them. I went underground, to find you. And I did. But you already had another life by then. And there was no room for me. That last hope was snuffed out like a candle on its last bit of wick. My hatred for the world grew and grew, and I just could not control it. The day I accepted you were gone, my soul died that day."

"That is your stake in this. You want to destroy everything...because of me..."

Rayne nodded, "The Wisemen contacted me with an idea to put together a specialized unit, of those who had died inside and had turned against the world that killed them. They gave me everything I needed to set the world ablaze...and promised a chance to see you again, to tell you the truth. I am truly sorry it had to happen this way. But I did not see any other way. Please, Sunny. Come back to me..."

Sunny met her gaze firmly, "I am truly sorry for your losses. But I am not your daughter. And I will not become your daughter. Not after everything I have gone through. You took away my childhood, my mother. You posed as my mother to deceive me. I will never forgive that. Ever."

The look of rage returned and Rayne gripped her staff tightly, "I see. Then it is time to end this. If you won't come back to me, I will kill you with the rest of the world. If you kill me, well then good riddance. I can finally be at peace. But I will not let her have you."

"Let her have me? You mean she is..."

Rayne leaped forward suddenly. Sunny drew her hand gun and braced herself. Rayne charged at her with full force. Sunny opened fire, but every shot was deflected by her staff. Sunny continued to shoot, but none of her shots found her target.

As Rayne closed in, she slammed her staff into Sunny's side. The blow knocked the wind from her and she stumbled backwards. Rayne kept a full pace and followed up with two blows to the head.

Sunny fell to the ground with her head spinning. Her opponent did not let up. Rayne threw several kicks at the operative, all of them connecting. The attack was so sudden and relentless, Sunny found herself helpless once again, just as she was with Hunter. Rayne lifted her staff for a final blow. Sunny immediate shot her legs into the gut of the woman. She used the momentum to push herself into a backwards roll and shot back up with full force with a punch into Rayne's face. She knocked Ranye backwards and landed on her feet. Immediately picking up her handgun.

"Stop!" She yelled as Ranye reached for her staff.

The woman stopped and looked up at her with a grin, "Do it. You think I don't want you to?"

Sunny looked down at her curiously, "Why are you so eager to die?"

Rayne pursed her lips and returned, "Why are you so eager to live? This world will take everything from you, and give nothing back. Just like me. Just like Solid Snake."

The statement caught Sunny off guard. Before she could react, Rayne spun around in a leg sweep, knocking her legs from under her. Sunny rolled sideways to keep her balance, but before she could retrain her gun on Rayne, her adversary had regained her weapon and was already in mid-swing for another blow.

Sunny barely dodged the attack and stumbled down with a shot from her gun. Rayne easily dodged the shot and got back to her feet. Sunny rolled backwards and retreated from the woman.

Rayne charged ahead with her staff ready to strike. Sunny fled and leaped over a stack of crates for cover. As Rayne came over the crates, Sunny slammed her leg into her ribs. The woman tumbled to the ground and Sunny took cover behind a column.

Rayne got to her feet and stabilized herself. "I'm impressed," she said wryly, "You are quite resourceful, child."

"Stop this madness!" Sunny yelled, "None of this will satisfy you, we both know that!"

Rayne chuckled, "Nothing will satisfy me now. You had your chance to save the world! And have a family! You blew it! And for what? For a ghost you never knew! A ghost you never will know!"

"I have a family!" Sunny yelled back, "But it is not you! It will never be you!"

"Then this is it!" Rayne shrieked, "You will die, Sunny Gurlukovich!"

She raised her staff to attack, and Sunny left her cover, firing a barrage of shots. The shots hit their mark and sent Rayne to the floor. Sunny kept her gun drawn, making her way slowly to the fallen woman.

She breathed heavily and held her midsection with her other hand as she stood over her. She could not believe it. She had won.

"Otacon, do you read?"

"Loud and clear, Maiden."

"I need to find a way to stop Metal Gear."

"Okay I am looking through the blueprints."

"Get back to me as soon as possible."

"Right. Maiden, are you okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, everything with Rayne...and your mother."

Sunny shook her head, "Otacon this is not the ti-"

She suddenly went silent as she noticed the bullet holes inside Octopus Rayne begin to close. "Otacon, I have to go."

"Maiden, what's going on?"

"I'll talk to you in a bit." Sunny stepped backwards and held her gun firmly as she watched the wounds heal. Unfortunately, she was not quick enough. Before she could react, Rayne was back on her feet and the staff was slamming into her.

Sunny stumbled back, but had no time to recover. Rayne was relentless now, as she delivered blow after blow. Sunny dropped her handgun and was trying desperately to stay on her feet and block the blows from her face. She finally landed a kick that knocked Rayne backwards just enough to create some distance. She drew the two daggers she had taken from Damsel and braced herself.

"What...are you?" She asked.

Rayne merely chuckled, "I have lived many lifetimes, child. Do not think to kill me so easily."

"What do you mean?"

"Hahaha!" Rayne laughed again, "So much you do not know about this world you are trying to save!" She launched at Sunny once more, swinging her staff feverishly. Sunny threw slash after slash, just trying to deflect Rayne's blows. She was having alot of success keeping the strikes from hitting her, but she was running out of energy and it seemed that Rayne had an unlimited supply.

The blows kept coming, and Sunny kept blocking them. It was becoming harder and harder to keep it up as time went on, and Sunny knew that she would have to give in eventually.

Rayne saw the fatigue in the eyes of the young operative and began to swing harder and harder, bringing victory closer to her. Sunny struggled and struggled, but Rayne would not let up and eventually it became too much.

Octopus Rayne knocked each dagger from her hands and began to assault her. Sunny took a blow to each side, a blow to her arms, one to her midsection, one to her back, and then a final blow to the back of her legs. Sunny fell to her knees and Rayne laughed eerily.

"Rest peacefully, child. I will always love you." She said as she raised her staff for a final blow.

"Kill me now." Sunny said firmly between breaths, "I will never be your daughter."

Rage filled the woman as she tightened her grip, "As you wish, child."

"Rayne!" A voice called out over the intercom. Sunny looked up to the observation deck to see the Wisemen watching them. "Do not finish her without Metal Gear Moses! We need the data! That is the goal of this exercise."

"To hell with your data!" Rayne yelled

"Do it! Or we will abandon your war!"

Rayne grimaced as she lowered her staff, "Fine...it seems your death will be more spectacular that I had hoped." She suddenly spun and slammed her staff into Sunny's back.

The young girl screamed in agony as she fell to the floor. Rayne looked up at the Wisemen with an angry look and threw her staff on the ground.

Sunny watched as she made her way over to a small lift that began to load her into Metal Gear. Sunny let her head fall down to the floor.

She lay there, staring at the ceiling, the clamoring of the lift ringing in her ears. "Snake...I need you."

_**I'm here kid**_**,** the gruff voice called out in her head.

"Snake!"

_**You have to get up. You have to finish this!**_

"Snake...I do not want to fail."

_**Then keep going, kid. You gotta fight through the pain. You are so close. Don't give up now.**__  
_  
"You're right, Snake." She said with resolve.

_**You got it kid, you can do this. Pull yourself together. This is where it counts!  
**_  
Sunny forced herself to her feet, pushing every muscle in her body. The effects of FOXDIE were fading for now, allowing her to focus on nothing but the task in front of her.

Metal Gear Moses roared to life. The massive weapon began to move and break from its support frame. Sunny braced herself and retrieved her handgun. She knew it would not help her much against the behemoth, but it was the only start she had. Sunny Gurlukovich took a deep breath and stood strong as the Metal Gear started toward her.

6


	25. Chapter 24 Metal Gear Moses

_**Chapter 24**_

Metal Gear Moses

The cement of the warehouse floor exploded as the massive pile bunker on the arm of Metal Gear Moses slammed through it. Sunny somersaulted backwards out of the way and landed on her feet.

"Witness the ultimate war machine!" Rayne called out through Metal Gear's intercom. "Bipedal was the future when the first Metal Gear was born. Now the future is fully functioning legs and arms." Metal Gear leaped in the air and came crashing down towards Sunny with another sweeping blow.

Sunny rolled to the side, barely dodging the attack. As she stabilized herself, she ran across to a clear zone and opened fire with her handgun. It wouldn't do much, she knew, but it would serve as a distraction until she could figure something out.

"Otacon!" She yelled as the fired on Moses and tried to stay clear of its sweeping arm, "I need an idea quick!"

"I'm looking through the data!" Otacon replied in a panic, "I haven't been able to find anything yet. They did a good job with this one. Making it fully humanoid eliminated most common weaknesses of the original models.

"Damn it!" She exclaimed as another punch came her way. She evaded the attack and made her way towards the other side of the room. "We have to do something quick!"

Moses came for her once more, an eerie laughter from Rayne coming through the intercom. Sunny stayed on the move as the machine threw blow after blow her way. She flipped, jumped and dodged every attack as she struggled to stay clear of the assault.

She kept going, scanning every crate she could to try and find some sort of weapon to use against her massive foe. "Otacon! I need something!"

"I know, I'm trying here! I haven't been able to find a thing!"

Sunny looked to see the amused expressions on the faces of the Wisemen. _Admiring their handiwork_, she said to herself spitefully. She braced herself as Moses sped toward her, being able to move in just a split second as the machine rammed through the wall as she was in mid jump, a pile of debris from the wall slammed into her and knocked her to the floor.

The head of Moses turned instantly, locking on to the opportunity. "Give this up, Sunny!" Rayne yelled from the intercom, "You cannot win against me!"

Moses raised its pile-bunker for a coup de gras. Sunny looked up at the weapon as it raised. Then she noticed something. Under the shoulder was a small opening where the wires connected. All she needed was something long and slender to fit in and she could slash the wires. The daggers! She thought excitedly.

The pile-bunker came crashing down, but Sunny was already in motion. She made her way over to where the daggers lay on the ground and retrieved the weapons. Moses turned and remained in pursuit, just as she had hoped. The massive pile-bunker slammed down again. This time, Sunny waited for it to touch the ground. She timed it and leaped onto the arm of Moses. She ran up the arm and climbed her way to the underside before stabbing the dagger as hard as she could and ripped it back out, slashing through the wires and cables. Before Rayne could react, she side-ran across the back and did the same to the other arm. Sunny landed on her feet and ran into a flip over a pile of crates for cover.

The machine stumbled back, "What?!" Rayne called out, "What did you do?!" As hard as she tried, she could no longer get the arms to respond. Sunny grinned as she listened to the frustration in the woman's voice.

"Fine!" She yelled finally, "Escape this!" Sunny ducked and took cover as the machine guns on the shoulders began to fire.

"Otacon!" She yelled, "How am I supposed to get around that?"

"I'm looking, Maiden! Please be patient."

"Patient? I'm just trying to stay alive!"

"I know, I know. Just a little longer!"

Debris flew all around the room from the massive shots. The crates began to explode away as well and Sunny's cover was beginning to waste away. As desperation set it in, what seemed to be a gift from the heavens fell from above.

She instinctively reached to grab it, only to see it shot across the room away from her by Moses. Seeing her cover almost gone, she had no choice but to run the opposite direction. She made her way behind a massive column for a temporary reprieve.

Rayne continued to fire on her, a dark smile of satisfaction forcing itself across her face. The crosshair from the monitor moved all across the warehouse, the massive bullets shredding through the building.

Sunny stayed as far behind her cover as she could while trying to keep an eye on the location of the rocket launcher. Time seemed to slow as she closed her eyes and began to focus. Her eyes twitched rapidly as she began to calculate her course of action. The shots exploded around her, but she could hear only silence. Suddenly her head shot up and her eyes opened wide. Without hesitation, Sunny darted out from her cover and made her way to the weapon. As the shots sped toward her she leaped into a series of cartwheels.

Debris and other metal objects rang throughout the room and as Rayne tried desperately to hit her mark. As she neared her destination, Sunny jumped into one last roll. She completed the roll by grabbing the rocket launcher and pushing it forwards. With an instant adjustment with targeting, she fired. The rocket launched from the weapon and sped forward and Sunny had already thrown the launcher down and was again speeding forwards towards more cover. The rocket hit its mark and the gun on the left shoulder exploded.

"Aaagghh!" Rayne yelled as her frustration exploded as well. She turned to fire on Sunny with her last remaining gun, but then it exploded as well. She turned Moses to the left as two more rockets crashed into it.

"What's goin on?!" she called out.

Sunny, startled by the explosions, looked up as well. She could not believe her eyes, as she saw who dropped the rocket launcher down to her in the first on the catwalk above stood Hunter, John, and Sypher, each man wielding rocket launchers of their own.

"So it was them," she said, with a smile.

"Sunny!" John called out, "Let's finish this!"

Another round of rockets collided with Moses and Rayne screamed from the cockpit. "Hit the waste!" Sypher yelled, "Take the armor off of the waste!" The other two nodded and the three men shot simultaneous shots at Moses. The shots hit and the Metal Gear stumbled backwards.

"Sunny!" Sypher yelled out as he motioned to the torn armor, "We have little time! You have to hit the core! Take out the core and you take out the weapon!"

Sunny wasted no time as she charged out towards Moses. As she ran, she scooped up the titanium staff of Rayne's and began to spin it. She ran up the legs of a Moses and leaped from the thigh with full momentum.

"This can't be!" Rayne yelled as Sunny came crashing down with the staff going straight through the core of Moses. She landed on her feet firmly and the weapon began to howl and churn out of control.

"What is this, Sypher?!" Balthazar yelled over the intercom in a rage.

Sypher looked up with a smile and a thumbs up, "Sorry, Bal. I saw tonight ending differently."

The three men wore expressions of anger and rage. "Of all the possibilities, you betray us?! This Metal Gear was your design!"

"Eh, Looks like a failure" he said with a smile. He looked over at Hunter and John, "The rest is up to you. My role is finished." His smile suddenly faded into a serious look of formality. "It has been a pleasure." he said as he walked out of the door.

John looked down to Sunny and smiled. The young female operative smiled back and the two nodded at each other. Hunter merely crossed his arms and nodded to both of them. The reunion was interrupted by the sound of the cockpit pushing open from Metal Gear Moses. Rayne leaped from the cockpit and landed on the ground, retrieving her staff.

"Looks like Plan B." she said with a wry smile.

"Plan B?" Sunny asked.

Rayne laughed and slammed her staff against the floor, "The Simulation as finished. Sunny Gurlukovich has prevailed." She looked up at the three men. "It is time to declare war. Launch the warhead."

4


	26. Chapter 25 Endgame

_**Chapter 25**_

Endgame

"No!" Sunny screamed.

"This was the plan all along." Rayne stated with a smile, "The warhead was never for Moses. It will be the catalyst in this war. A UAA warhead exploding in the USSR. The war will being. The world will burn!"

"Hahaha!" Balthazar interrupted.

Rayne looked back up at the three men. "There will be no war," Gaspar said musingly.

"No war? But you said."

"We have said many things to many people." said Melchoir, "And the world continues because of it."

"I don't understand," Rayne retorted.

"It is very simple," Balthazar stepped forward, "you were used just as much as you used Sunny and Olga Gurlukovich. We needed a team to mimic that of the terrorist group FOXHOUND from Shadow Moses. Since FOXHOUND had already been taken by miss Gurlukovich here, we thought it would be rather interesting for that terrorist group to be called FOX. The two once proud and honorable but now rogue forces facing off against one another. Such a poetic irony, don't you think? Superb story-telling."

He cleared his throat with a grin, "We chose those who the world had turned against, abandoned and pretended didn't exist. People who wanted nothing more than to see the world ablaze! And you!" He said, pointing to Rayne, "You were the core of the entire operation. Your past with Sunny and your shape shifting ability that allowed you to draw her here as her real mother. I must say, you made quite the Big Boss."

"You...you bastard!"

"Our Solid Snake Simulation was never about a war on the world, or making Sunny into her predecessor. It was all about perfecting our prototype! Once Moses is complete, we will officially invade the NAA, and then, the other countries will fall to us!"

"Of course!" Sunny said as she realized, "You are not going to use FOXDIE to destroy, you are going to use it to conquer."

Melchoir nodded, "The Human Genome project has come quite a long way in the past few decades. The cure for cancer, designer babies, so much promise. But then, we found a very interesting gene. One that had remained in oblivion until recently. We call it the Alpha Gene: what defines the so called "alpha male." Those who want to lead and are able to lead the masses. Napoleon, Hitler, Mussolini, Castro, Hussein, they all had the Alpha Gene. As you know, Miss Gurlukovich, FOXDIE targets specific genetic codes. We will simply alter it to kill those who possess the Alpha Gene, leaving only those who will follow. Why kill those opposed to you when you can simply wipe out those who actually will fight back, those who may someday win?"

"Dear God." John said as he looked on.

"The warhead will be detonated here." Balthazar said, "To destroy any trace of what happened here tonight. You all played your roles quite admirably. Though it did not go exactly as hoped, we collected a lot of excellent data. We thank you all for participating. Have a great evening." Balthazar pushed a button on the control panel and the alarms began to sound. Red warning lights flared to life.

"We must go." Hunter said sternly.

Sunny looked over at Rayne, "Come with us. Let us help you escape."

"I do not need your help. You flee. I am going after them."

"You will never catch them. You will die!"

"Then so be it. I have nothing left. I will have my revenge!"

Sunny shook her head, "I understand why you did this. I am not your daughter, and I never will be. But we can be friends."

Rayne gasped, "Honestly?"

"Yes!" Sunny nodded, "Now come with us!"

Rayne rushed and embraced the girl. Sunny braced up as she hugged her, "I will always love you, even if you do not love me. I am sorry child, I must go after them. Now go!" She pushed Sunny back and make her way upwards towards the observation room.

"Sunny!" John yelled, "We have to go now!"

Sunny looked up and nodded to John as she made her way to the ladder. She climbed up to the catwalk and joined the other two.

They made their way through the door and down the long corridor that led to the hanger lift. The alarms sounded throughout the entire complex. "Where are we going?" Sunny asked as they ran.

"We take this lift to ground level," John offered in response, "Then an elevator to the roof."

"The roof?"

"There is a chopper there," Hunter said as they boarded the lift, "We flew it here with Sypher. He told us to use it for an escape."

John manned the controls and the lift roared to life as the three began to elevate.

"Why is he helping us?" Sunny asked curiously, "Did Balthazar not say that he designed Metal Gear Moses?"

John shrugged, "Honestly, I'm not sure what's going on between them. All I know is that without him all three of us would be dead by now."

"Maiden!" Otacon buzzed in, "I thought Victor Ward designed Moses!"

Sunny flipped a switch on her communications device to allow the other two to hear him, "I know, I did too. It seems this is much more complex than we thought."

"So both of them designed Moses? But why? What caused them to get involved with the Wisemen?"

The lift stopped and the three began towards the elevator. "So you and Rayne made up?" John asked.

"No, we have not. I will never forgive her. But now I understand her. She has the same emptiness I have and the Patriots and the Wisemen used that emptiness to manipulate her."

"That's a damn shame," John responded.

"Yeah..." Sunny replied. She thought of telling them how Rayne healed herself of the gunshots wounds, how she had hinted that her mother may still be alive, but decided that would be best left for another time. Everyone already had enough questions and there was no sense in adding more.

The three took the elevator towards the roof and Sunny leaned against the wall in relief. Her entire body was on fire. She could not feel her legs and her head was racing. She only had to push a little further and she would be home free. _Snake..._ she thought to herself. And then it hit her, "Snake's body!" she yelled, "We have to get his body!"

Hunter shook his head.

Sunny started to rebut but John cut her off, "He's right, Sun. We gotta go. If we go back we will be killed." He looked at her sternly, "We are not done with the Wisemen yet, and I would wager his body is safe with them. Don't worry, we will find them and end this."

Sunny stared up at him helplessly. After a moment a tear rolled from her eye and she nodded. The elevator came to a halt and they boarded the chopper. The craft took off and sped away towards the northern mountains.

"Drop me off on these cliffs here," Sunny said, "Otacon will come for me in the Nomad. I want to watch this god forsaken place blow up."

Hunter nodded and changed course. "Are you sure this is what you want?" John asked.

Sunny said nothing, and merely nodded. John threw down a rope ladder as they neared their destination. "What will you do?" He asked, "With them still out there?"

"I am going to find them," she said weakly, "I am going to stop this. I do not know how. But I will end it."

John nodded, "I will fight too. I will train with my father. He's my Solid Snake."

Sunny smiled and nodded. Hunter turned back towards them, "Make sure you live through all of this, Sunny Gurlukovich. It benefits me more to cooperate with you for now. But we are not finished. Do not die until we are."

"I will beat you. I swear."

"I hope that you do. Maybe the rage will end."

Sunny said a final goodbye and exited down the ladder. The two men sped away in the chopper as she made her way to the edge of the cliff. "Otacon."

"Loud and clear, Maiden."

Sunny smiled, "We won."

"No, Maiden. You won. Snake would be proud."

"Not yet. I have many more victories to earn."

"Perhaps you are right, Snake is kind of a pain. Rest for now, Maiden."

"Copy that." She said as Titan's Trench exploded in a blaze of chaos. The cloud sped upwards and out as it reach its climax. She could feel the heat even from her position. With a deep sigh she clenched her fist.

"Snake, I will get you back. I will end this legacy. I swear."

_**I know you will, kid. She heard his voice. You're not as useless as I feared the first time I ate those eggs.**_

Sunny smiled to herself as the wind blew, "The threat is gone for now. I have to find them before they finish redesigning FOXDIE."

_**You're right kid. You have to find them.**_

"Will you be here with me, Snake? I need you."

_**Where else would I go? Definitely not in Otacon's head. Oh God, I don't even want to think about it. ...Ugh, I need a smoke...**_

Sunny stood atop the cliff, more certain than ever about her future. Tonight was won, but a war was coming. She knew the Wisemen would not delay any more than they had to. Something had to be done. Someone had to do it. I had to be her. Snake's student had to end his legacy. No one else would. No one else could. She had defeated Metal Gear. She knew she could defeat them.

She looked down in despair as she thought about FOXDIE being within her. Would she have enough time? She tried to smile. That did not matter right now. It was victory. She had to accept her win tonight.

5


	27. Epilogue A Final Reunion

_**Epilogue**_

A Final Reunion

Sunny looked on at the ruins of the facilities. She had learned so much, saw even more. All in one night. She knew she was still just a rookie, but somehow she felt that she could win this. She made it through tonight, and she felt she could keep going.

"It is good to finally see you, Sunny." A voice called out from behind. Sunny turned to see the last person she had expected to see, given all that had transpired. Tears welled in her eyes and electricity shot through her entire body. She lost all feeling in her legs and buckled down under her own weight. There was so much she wanted to say. Wanted to ask. But only one word seemed to escape, "Mother..."

Olga Gurlukovich stood before her in a deep purple trench coat. Her silver, shoulder-length hair fluttered in the wind. Her expression was firm and cold, but her eyes belied the warmth she was feeling. "I have waited long for this day. You look well."

Sunny regained her strength and rushed throw her arms around the woman, "Mother! Please tell me it is really you!"

Olga gasped, caught off guard by the sudden embrace, "I...yes, it's me."

"Mother...how...you are alive..."

Olga flinched, deep in thought, "I see you found your way to war after all."

Sunny nodded as tears fell from her eyes. "Snake...Snake trained me. I came here to help him."

"Solid Snake..." Olga mused, "Yes, I once worked with him. He helped me...keep you alive."

"I know," Sunny said with a smile as she backed away, "he told me many times."

Olga glanced down at the ruins of Titan's Trench, "I see he taught you well."

"I thought you were there...I went to find you. I...I...what are you doing here?"

"The same reason you are here," she said nonchalantly, "The Wisemen."

Sunny lowered her head, "They told me you were dead..."

"They think I am," she said slowly, "And technically I am. However, there are some wrongs that must be righted before I go."

"What do you mean?"

"The evil and corruption of the Patriots is returning, in the form of the Wisemen. I must cut this weed now before it grows any further."

"Mother, I will fight them too!" Sunny yelled suddenly, "Fight them with me!"

Olga nodded, "I will share your fight. But not together."

"What? Why? I-"

"It is not the time. You must find your own way." Olga turned to walk away, "I just wanted to see you. To see that you are okay." she took a few steps and stopped, "However, we shall certainly meet again, if you truly wish to carry on your fight. And perhaps...that will not be so bad"

Sunny nodded, "So you are leaving?"

"For now."

"But, I just...saw you..."

"And you will see me again."

"Mother..."

"Yes?"

"How...are you...alive?"

Olga looked down, trying to choose her words carefully, "Big Boss."

################################################## #############################

The Wisemen looked on at the massive explosion from their chopper. The blast seemed to please them all.

"So the war will begin." Melchior mused.

"It will probably be more of a cold war at first," Gaspar corrected, "but it will serve our purposes just fine, I think."

"It will, indeed" Balthazar added, "Everything is going as I foresaw it."

Gaspar shook his head, "Living as long as you have will let you predict much. What are you going to do with your fellow immortal?" he said, motioning at the still body of Octopus Rayne.

Balthazar laughed and eerie laugh, "She will reawaken soon, her memories gone again. We will...repurpose her. He role is not yet over."

"Do you not feel guilty," Melchior asked curiously, "Manipulating a fellow Philosopher like that?"

Balthazar nodded, "She was a friend once, but now she is nothing more than a weapon. Another side effect of living as long as the two of us have. You lose...your connections with people. Times change as ages pass on. Eventually, you no longer care."

"The only remaining members of the original Philosophers..." Gaspar said mockingly, "Maybe we will succeed where you two failed. Well unless _he _gets involved again."

"Silence!" Balthazar was now very upset, "Do not speak his name!"

"Yes, the father of the Boss. The one who began this century wide struggle." Melchior and Gaspar were now having fun making their leader angry.

Balthazar gritted his teeth, "Big Boss, Solid Snake, and now Sunny Gurlukovich. All this time they never knew why they were truly fighting. It will not be much longer."

The three men continued to plot as the chopper flew off into the night sky.

################################################## #############################

"Big Boss?" Sunny eyed her mother intently, looking for answers.

"He saved my life after the Manhattan Incident, nursed me back to health. He began to train me in the ways the Boss trained him."

"But...why?"

"To do what I am doing now. What you are doing. Carry on the fight."

"Carry on..."

Olga smirked, "Who would have thought his son what have asked the same of you. Fate can be quite amusing."

A tear rolled down Sunny's cheek, "Why can we not...fight together then."

"I will stop them at any means. You will not like my methods."

"What do you mean?"

"Freedom was the Boss' dying wish. Where men were not pawns, and every life meant something. Big Boss carried that vision to his grave. They're legacy has never been in more danger. Freedom, it must be preserved, at all costs. You will understand in time. Then...maybe we will work together."

As she spoke, Sunny could hear the roaring engines of the Nomad coming closer. "I do not care about your methods. I just want to be with you."

Olga shook her head, fighting back tears of her own, "I have to end this my way. I cannot have you with me. At least not yet."

"But mother I-"

"I said no. Your friend is coming, I suggest you go with him. Back to your real family."

"Mother.." she muttered as the fell to the ground crying.

Olga turned and walked away, a tear falling from her eye as well.

As the nomad neared, she watched her mother leave her...again. Worse, she was powerless to do anything to stop it.

################################################## #############################

"Everything happened like you said it would, Sypher." the voice said happily on the other end of the phone line.

"No need to need to use that codename anymore," Sypher replied sarcastically, "I wonder if anyone picked up on the reference?"

The man laughed, "No, I don't think anyone saw through it. Who we really are. So they think I am really dead?"

"They do. And I got all the data from Moses, and even a sample of their precious FOXDIE. Best of all, Sunny Gurlukovich still lives. Tonight was quite a show, quite a victory. And your idea to include a weakness in the core of Moses, it was brilliant, Victor."

Victor Ward smiled in spite of himself, "And so we move on to the next stage of our own project."

Sypher nodded, "I wish my grandfather was still here, to see our stroke of genius. He would be quite proud."

"I think he would be quite impressed Adamska. Now all that remains is to get a new benefactor, so we can begin our real work. I am receiving the data now. What is the password?"

Sypher grinned to himself, "What else would it be? La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo."


End file.
